


Turn Me Human

by Sammybunny711



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Angst, Anxiety, Drama, Fade to Black, Falling In Love, First Kiss, First Time, M/M, Mutual Pining, POV Alternating, POV Katsuki Yuuri, POV Victor Nikiforov, Romance, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-05-15 11:59:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19295290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sammybunny711/pseuds/Sammybunny711
Summary: Katsuki Yuuri's world is turned upside down when a bloodied, gasping man wanders into his bakery as he's closing up for the night.





	1. Chapter 1

Yuuri leaned over the front counter of his bakery and sighed. It was almost seven, but it had been nearly thirty minutes since the last customer had walked out. His sense of pride in his little shop refused to allow him to close his doors one minute before the end of the workday, so he stood there staring through the glass door out onto empty, cold streets. It was already dark out, shadows eating up the limited view Yuuri had of the outside world through the front windows. 

He checked his watch.  _ 6:45pm _ . 

“Ugh,” he groaned.

It had been a particularly busy day up until about four o’clock and since then things had been dragging on and on. It wasn’t that he didn’t like his job. Quite the opposite. He’d opened this place a year ago with great passion and excitement to finally share his baking with the world. But sometimes, a hard day was a hard day and all you wanted to do was sleep. Particularly when you woke up at 4am every morning. 

In a fit of unprofessionalism, Yuuri put his forehead down on the counter, careful not to crush his glasses, and closed his eyes. Fifteen minutes. Just fifteen minutes and he’d be free to close up, turn off the lights, and head upstairs for a shower and a good book. He took in a lungful of air and exhaled slowly. 

The bells above the door peeled cheerily and he shot up. “Welcome! How can I--” his eyes widened and his voice died on the words, “ _ help you… _ ?”

A man leaned in the doorway. Shocking blue eyes peered out at him from beneath a fall of silver hair. Pale skin enveloped fine bones and a tall frame covered mostly by a long dark coat and a charcoal scarf. 

But it was the blood that stole Yuuri’s attention away from the handsome features.

Scarlet color bloomed into the knitted fibers of a white sweater where it had been slashed to ribbons, soaking it through until droplets fell from the hem onto the wooden floor of the bakery. Heavy panting distracted Yuuri from the blood and his eyes snapped up to the man’s pink lips. A white hand reached out to rest on the shelf that stood adjacent to the door, but missed by a hair’s breadth. The man lost his balance and collapsed onto the now-crimson-stained welcome mat. 

“Whoa!” Yuuri was around the counter like a shot, bending down on one knee over the prone body. “Hey! Are you alright, sir?”

Stupid question. No one covered in that much blood was alright. Yuuri checked to make sure the man was still breathing at least. He was. A moan escaped him and he tried to move. 

“Keep still. I’m calling for an ambulance,” Yuuri told him, reaching into his pocket for his cell. 

Surprisingly firm fingers gripped his wrist. “No...please…”

It was difficult for Yuuri to catch the English words through the thick shroud of an accent he couldn’t immediately place. “You need a hospital!”

Silvery strands shook with the movement of the man’s head. “No hospitals…”

Yuuri balked. What the hell had happened to this guy? The long fingers uncurled from his wrist and fell to the floor with a thud. Crystalline blue eyes fluttered closed and the man lay utterly still. Yuuri nudged him carefully. No response. He must have blacked out. Yuuri pondered his cell phone resting in his palm and weighed his choices. This man could be more seriously hurt than he already seemed. It was dangerous to let him go without medical attention and yet…

Bright lights filled up the window and Yuuri panicked, craning his neck back to look at the glass door. The lights brightened and then slowly disappeared. Just a car driving by. He relaxed fractionally, but he knew that the risk of someone walking past and seeing the grisly scene on the floor of his shop was too great. He had to move this man. But could he move him without it doing more damage? Yuuri’s heart rate sped up and his breath grew shallow. This was a nightmare. 

Knowing he couldn’t stay on the floor forever, he stood up, careful not to disturb the man, and locked the front door. He put up the closed sign and went behind the counter to turn off the lights. That would hopefully keep prying eyes from looking in and seeing the bleeding body. Yuuri stared at the small pool of blood that was currently drenching his welcome mat. 

“Okay,” he breathed. 

He knelt down again and shifted the man onto his back. Considering his front was the source of the blood, it probably wasn’t doing him any favors lying on it. The movement stirred him to wakefulness and he blinked blearily up at Yuuri. 

“No hospitals,” he repeated. 

“Fine. No hospitals, but I need to see what damage has been done,” Yuuri told him, trying to keep his voice even. 

The man sat up, swaying as he did so, putting a hand to his forehead. Yuuri braced his hands against his shoulders to keep him from toppling over. 

“Can you stand?” Yuuri asked.

The stranger nodded.

It took the two of them, but after several false starts, they got the man onto his wobbly feet. Yuuri had no idea how much blood the guy had lost, but given that not only the sweater, but now his pants were soaked, it had to be a lot.

“Come on. I’ll take you somewhere you can lie down,” Yuuri said softly, injecting what he hoped was a soothing tone into his voice. 

The man sagged into Yuuri’s side as they walked around the counter and through the door that led into the kitchen and the stairwell that connected to Yuuri’s upstairs apartment. The stairs. How on earth were they going to make it up the stairs? Yuuri bit his lip.

“Can you climb some steps?” Yuuri asked him. 

“I can do it,” the man slurred. 

“Here,” Yuuri pulled the man’s left arm over his own shoulder. “One at a time, okay?”

A scant nod was all he got in reply. 

Every step was an immense effort and Yuuri was worried constantly that they’d fall backwards and break their necks, but somehow they made it to the top without incident. By then, the man’s breathing was ragged and sweat covered his brow. 

“Almost there,” Yuuri promised. 

He unlocked his apartment door and heaved his unexpected guest inside. Yuuri frowned. He didn't want to destroy his couch with the blood. Bedsheets could be washed or dyed. Decision made, he half-dragged the man into his bedroom and onto his bed. A wince escaped the stranger’s lips when he sunk into the pillow and sheets. He still wore his coat and scarf. Yuuri frowned as he watched those blue eyes peer at him warily. 

“I’ll get the first-aid kit.”

He went to his attached bathroom and retrieved the white box from beneath the vanity and returned to the bedroom. Flicking the lights on, Yuuri noted with some remorse the man’s hiss and the way he covered his eyes with a forearm.

“Sorry.” Yuuri crossed to the bed and sat on the edge beside the man’s thighs. “We’re going to have to take off that coat and scarf.”

The man blinked and pursed his lips. 

“I know it’s probably going to hurt, but I’ll help, okay?” Yuuri set the box to the side and waited for the stranger to sit up on his own. 

Once the coat was off, the damage was more obvious. Blood covered the right shoulder of the sweater as well as the entire front. They might as well cut it off. It was mostly in tatters anyway and bloodied wounds peeked through. At least the man wouldn’t have to raise his arms above his head. Yuuri turned and opened the kit, pulling out the scissors. 

“What are...those for?” the man panted. 

“That sweater is toast. Can I cut it off you? That way you won’t have to move your arms so much.”

Those blue eyes widened at that, distinct horror in the ocean depths. A groan that was altogether different from the earlier ones left him and he nodded with a shaky wave of one hand. “Just get it over with.”

Yuuri looked closer at the fabric as he began cutting up the middle and could tell it was of fine woolen make. No doubt it was an expensive item. As he continued, his eyes glanced to the coat and scarf. They were fancy, too. What was a man like this doing covered in blood? What was he doing in Hasetsu? 

The pieces of the sweater fell open, exposing the gruesome sight beneath. It was impossible to see the porcelain skin amidst the blood slicking across the man’s chest. Animalistic claw marks gouged through skin and muscle, nearly to the bone in some places. Yuuri covered his mouth with a hand, nausea quivering in his stomach.

“God,” Yuuri whispered. “What did this to you?” 

“That bad, huh?” the man huffed out a laugh that clearly pained him. Blood oozed from the wounds, dribbling over the already stained flesh.

“Seriously. I don’t understand…”

The man’s head fell back onto the pillow and he closed his eyes. “I’ll be alright. Just clean it and bandage it and I’ll be out of your hair.”

“This is going to need stitches.  _ Major  _ stitches,” Yuuri insisted, reaching again for his cell phone. 

This time, the hand that clamped down on his wrist was even stronger, the grip so hard that Yuuri felt his bones might crack. 

“ _ No. _ ” The man’s voice echoed in the chambers of Yuuri’s mind, a pulse accompanying the tiny word until it reverberated throughout his entire body. 

Inexplicably, Yuuri pulled his hand back out of his pocket and didn’t reach for the phone again. 

“Just...clean it.”

A deep wrinkle formed between Yuuri’s brows, but he nodded. Before he did anything, he went to the bathroom and thoroughly washed his hands. He didn’t know if it would help things, but it couldn’t hurt. Next, he used the wound wash in his kit to rinse the slashes in the man’s chest and shoulder. The liquid mixed with the blood and streamed in pink rivulets down the man’s revealed abdominal muscles until it soaked into the bedding. So much for these sheets. It would be a miracle if Yuuri’s mattress escaped unscathed. 

Once he’d used up all the wound wash and patted the gouges dry with a paper towel, he had the man sit up. They removed the shreds of the sweater and Yuuri checked his back. It was perfectly fine, thankfully. And muscular. And beautiful.

“I can think of better circumstances for getting undressed…” the man joked. 

Yuuri flushed at that, ripping his eyes away from the alabaster skin, and didn’t comment. 

The man sat admirably still while Yuuri wrapped his torso and shoulder in white gauze. Some blood came through the material, but not much and it seemed that the worst of it was over. Once he was done and the first aid kit was packed back up, the silence between them felt tense and strange.

“Thank you,” the man eventually said, voice weary.

Yuuri looked at his hands in his lap. “You’re welcome.”

A cool touch on his chin startled him and he looked up into the stranger’s face. Yuuri realized he hadn’t really looked at him properly until now. Handsome didn’t even begin to cover it. 

“I mean it,” the man reiterated. “I…”

Yuuri couldn’t stop the color that seeped into his cheeks. 

The man noticed it, his eyes dropping to the blush spreading beneath Yuuri’s glasses. A pink tongue darted out, wetting bow-shaped lips. 

Yuuri’s pulse sped up at the sight. 

“I should probably go,” the man finally said. 

Yuuri stood up and rubbed the back of his neck. “You should  _ probably  _ stay still for a little while. Until the bleeding fully stops. You can sleep there, just let me change the sheets before you go to bed.”

He had no idea why he was offering this man his bed for the night, but he couldn’t just send an injured person back out onto the streets. 

“You’d let me stay here?” Surprise lightened the man’s eyes.

“Yes?” Yuuri didn’t mean for it to sound like a question.

A softness overpowered the pain clear in the man’s expression. “You’re very kind.”

Yuuri pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose from where they’d slipped down and turned to the closet. He retrieved another set of sheets and helped the man stand and lean against the wall so Yuuri could switch out the ones on the bed. The bloodied layers would go in the trash later. He didn’t even want to attempt to explain something like that to his mother when he went over to his parents’ inn to do his laundry tomorrow. 

Once the bed was remade, Yuuri glanced to the man’s red-soaked pants. Another flush was coming, but he quelled it and cleared his throat. “You should probably take those off, too.”

A smirk touched the corner of the man’s mouth before it turned into a charming smile. Yuuri wondered how he could find the energy to flirt when he’d been half-dead not a fifteen minutes ago. 

“Got anything else I can wear?” He arched a brow.

Yuuri blanched. The stranger was several inches taller than him and quite a lot bigger in terms of musculature. Anything Yuuri had would undoubtedly be too small. Still, perhaps a pair of his dance sweats and a loose night shirt would fit well enough. 

“Let me check,” Yuuri said, returning to the closet.

He managed to find something that would probably work and held them out. Shaky hands brushed against Yuuri’s own for a brief touch and then the clothes were in the man’s hands.

Yuuri flushed violently when he murmured, “Do you...er...need any help getting dressed?”

The man thought for a moment, then sighed. “Probably.”

It was the most nerve wracking five minutes of Yuuri’s life. It was almost impossible not to want to look at such a perfect physique. When the man unzipped his pants, Yuuri looked away, willing the abominable blush on his cheeks to disappear. He heard the dip of the mattress springs as the man sat. 

“Can you perhaps…” 

“Oh, sure,” Yuuri said, moving to pull the pants legs off and pointedly  _ not  _ looking at the skin-tight black boxer briefs the man wore.

With Yuuri’s help, the man pulled on the sweats and then the night shirt. Both were form fitting, but not entirely salacious and Yuuri was able to relax at the sight. 

With a wince, the man eased onto his back and melted into the mattress.

“I’ll go get you some painkillers,” Yuuri said. 

“No. I’ll be fine.”

Yuuri rolled his eyes. “You’re not stubborn at all, are you?”

“I just...need to sleep,” the man said, yawning for effect.

He couldn’t imagine the sort of pain the man must be in, but if he was determined to play the tough guy, Yuuri wouldn’t stop him. “I’ll be in the other room on the couch if you wake up and decide you  _ do  _ want painkillers, alright?”

The man nodded, but his eyes were closed, his breath evening out. 

Yuuri turned off the lights and pulled the door almost shut. 

What in the world had just happened to him?

He couldn’t get the image of those claw-like marks out of his mind. It looked like the stranger had gotten into the wrong end of a fight with a panther or some other jungle beast. Beasts that  _ didn’t  _ just roam around Hasetsu on a Tuesday night. He shook his head and went into the kitchenette to make himself some chamomile tea. His nerves felt frayed like stripped wires and he could feel the edge in his mind sharpening to a razor point. A strange, beautiful, terribly injured man was sleeping in his bedroom and Yuuri was more than a little alarmed by that fact.

He pulled the tea kettle off the burner before it could whistle and poured the steaming water over the chamomile sachet in the depths of the pottery mug his best friend Phichit had given him for his last birthday. It grounded him in a strange way. This was his life. He was in a safe place. The fact that a bloodied, weak-legged man had stumbled into his world tonight was of no consequence really. He’d be gone tomorrow once he had gotten a good night’s sleep and Yuuri’s life would go back to normal. 

Just as it should be.

But as he lay awake on the couch that night, trying desperately to go to sleep, he couldn’t get the piercing blue of the man’s eyes out of his head. 

  
  


***

  
  


The gradually increasing white light of his wake-up alarm pulled Yuuri from a pitiful sleep. It had been well after midnight when he finally nodded off and it was 4am now. He stood up, yawned, and felt the bones in his back shift and crack after sleeping uncomfortably on the couch. At first, he was confused as to why he was in the front room of his apartment, but after only a second or two, the replay of the previous night’s events rolled through his mind. Before doing anything else, he tiptoed across the wooden floor and to the door that separated the front room from his bedroom. Cracking the door further open, he peered inside. 

A nearly luminescent face peeked up from beneath the shroud of Yuuri’s covers. Gossamer hair almost glowed with the light coming into the window from a streetlamp outside. He was still asleep then. Yuuri felt an immense relief fold into his heart and he turned away, pulling the door closed all the way. He’d have to forgo the usual morning shower or risk waking his guest. Perhaps he could grab one on his lunch break while Phichit manned the front counter. For now, he ate a simple breakfast, went into his bedroom long enough to retrieve a fresh set of clothes for the day, and quickly brushed his teeth. Thankfully, all of his activities failed to rouse the sleeper. 

Yuuri closed the door to his apartment and went downstairs to the bakery. He loved this time of the day. It was so still and quiet--far too early for anyone else on the street to be up. Pushing his glasses up his nose, he exhaled and let the previous night wash from his mind. The man was alive. He would deal with the rest later. Right now, he had to get the day going. 

First thing. He had to clean up the bloodied mess the man had made the night before. The welcome mat was ruined, so he braved the wintry cold to stuff it in the outside dumpster. Thankfully, only a little blood had gotten on the rest of the floor and stairwell. A good scrubbing took care of it. Everything was good as new within a half of an hour. Satisfied, Yuuri went into the kitchen and got a headstart on preparing the dough for the day.

Fifteen minutes into the process, Phichit arrived, slipping silently through the back kitchen door with black-lined eyes and glitter on his cheeks.

Yuuri chuckled and asked, “Where did  _ you _ go last night?”

Phichit removed his black face mask and smirked. “A party.”

“You’d better not get any of that glitter in my bread dough.”

His friend laughed and blinked rapidly. “What, you don’t like my fetching eyes, Yuuri?”

“Your fetching eyes need to be washed before you see customers. You look like you’ve been crying or something with all that mascara running down your cheeks”

“It’s part of the look!” Phichit flung a hand to his chest, affronted.

“Look or not, it’ll be distracting to the little old ladies who come here for their danishes every day.”

Phichit grumbled something in Thai under his breath and went to the bathroom in the hall between the kitchen and shop. When he returned, he looked considerably younger and his brown cheeks were clean of most of the glitter. 

“Happy?”

“Very,” Yuuri said, without looking too closely.

Phichit crossed his arms and shot Yuuri a look that rang of false irritation. Then his gaze deepened and he said, “You look like death. Did that many customers come through after I left last night?”

Yuuri hadn’t really spent too much time looking in the mirror this morning, but judging by the sandpapery feeling crusting around his eyes, he could believe Phichit’s words. “Something like that,” he muttered.

“I can take care of this if you need to go back to sleep for a little while,” his friend offered.

Yuuri smiled and shook his head. “I’m awake now. No sense going back to bed. Yuuko’s not going to be here until nine today anyway, so I don’t want to leave you with all the prep by yourself.”

Phichit shrugged. “Don’t say I didn’t offer, buddy.”

They fell into a companionable silence and Yuuri focused on kneading the dough for his famous shortbread cookies. With every moist turn of the glutenous mass, he wondered how the man upstairs was doing. Why had he been so insistent to stay out of the hospital? He was obviously foreign...was there some problem with his visa or did he lack the funds for healthcare? The fact that his clothing had seemed so expensive rather negated that possibility. Yuuri bit his lip to keep from muttering to himself as he worked the dough. 

Behind him, Phichit greased baking pans and trays. “You’re awfully quiet this morning. You sure you’re alright, Yuuri?”

“I’m fine,” he said, though he wasn’t sure how true his words were. 

They continued their work until seven when the first set of baking began. After sliding the tins and pans into the ovens, Yuuri took off his apron and wiped at his forehead with a white cloth. 

“Thanks, Phichit. Do you mind if I run upstairs and shower before we open?”

His friend stared at him, a perplexed frown on his face. “You didn’t shower last night? Or this morning?”

“Got side-tracked last night and came straight down this morning,” Yuuri said, avoiding the full truth.

Phichit shook his head, heaving an exasperated sigh. “The things I do for you. Go! Off with you! Don’t want you scaring those sweet little old ladies with your unwashed filth.”

“That’s a little extreme, but I appreciate you keeping an eye on things. I’ll be right back,” Yuuri laughed.

He went up the stairs, trying to avoid the creakiest spots so that he wouldn’t wake the man before he had to. In the apartment, an unnatural silence met him. A sinking feeling squirmed in his chest. It didn’t mean anything. It’s not like his ears were good enough to hear the man’s soft breaths in his sleep, but somehow the expected quiet chilled him. Morning light fell gently across the wooden floorboards and the tick of the wall clock measured out the hour. Yuuri immediately went to his bedroom door and pushed it open to reveal what he already knew. 

The man was gone. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - Wow! Thank you guys so much for such a warm reception to this fic. I truly hope you guys enjoy where it goes. I've got up through ch4 pre-written, so I wanted to share ch2 sooner rather than later. I'm thinking of a twice weekly update schedule, but it will depend on my schedule (working adult and all that). @Sammybunny711 on Tumblr and Twitter. Come geek out. <3 Happy reading.

Viktor’s wheezing breath sent clouds of white steaming into the air as he trudged through the early morning streets of Hasetsu. It was still dark out in the cool predawn and every alleyway he passed sent a shiver of fear through him. He was in no condition for another fight. Not yet. His throat burned with a clawing ache that would not cease. It rippled up through his head to pound afresh in his skull. Everything hurt, not least of all the claw marks that had torn his flesh. There was only one option for him now and he hated to think of it. _Refused_ to think of it.

 _If he_ _’d stayed one more minute in that apartment…_

He couldn’t even fathom what he would have done to that poor boy. Miraculously, Viktor hadn’t reached out and clutched the beautiful thing to his chest. Hadn’t run his fangs over that intoxicating skin. Refused to bite down and drain him until his veins ran dry. A dark laugh left his lips and he shook his head to reorient himself. The mere thought of it sent his heart fluttering. How in the world had he managed to stop himself?

After so much blood loss, Viktor was starving and irrational. It would be another miracle if he could make it back to the inn without killing anyone. He hadn’t felt this far gone since Yakov had turned him all those years ago. Was this what Yuri felt like every minute of every day? Viktor could barely remember those times--when Yakov had forcefully restrained him from murdering every warm body in sight.

Someone bumped into him, muttering “ _Sumimasen,_ ” under their breath. Viktor stood stock still, catching the delicious scent of their blood; a perfume on the wind. He closed his eyes. Clenched his hands into fists.

_No._

With every ounce of willpower he had left, he kept walking. The inn wasn’t that far. He was almost there. Yuri would scold him for going out on his own--especially after what had happened to him, but Viktor had to go last night. It was for Yuri’s own good. Now he knew what they were up against in the area. Two lone vampires were definitely a target for a local coven. Not a great position to be in. He and Yuri couldn’t stay at the inn forever--not when there were so many innocent humans inside. It had been stupid for them to rent the room in the first place, but after weeks of traveling and sleeping in cheap capsule hotels and dingy hostels, Viktor had longed for a proper place to rest his head for the night.

Just as his vision began to blur, the inn came into sight. Viktor thanked whatever deity might be listening and slumped his way through the front doors and down the thankfully empty front lobby and hallway. Voices trailed out of the doors leading to the common room and he had to punch his nails through his palms just to keep himself from going inside and wreaking havoc. Soon, their laughter and conversations faded and Viktor retracted his claws. Despite seeing it only briefly the night before, he remembered the way to their room and slid the door open with a jerk.

“Oi! What the hell, old man?” Yuri barked.

He was clad in only a white towel and stood in front of a hand mirror fiddling with the damp blond strands of his hair. His face held its characteristic vitriol until he got a good look at Viktor in the doorway.

“You look like hell.”

Viktor chuckled as he entered the room and closed the door. “And a good morning to you, too.”

Yuri snorted and went back to charming his reflection. “What are you wearing? What happened last night?”

Sitting took effort, but Viktor needed to get to their emergency supply right away. He rummaged through the duffle bag that held all their worldly belongings and located the icebox at the bottom of all Yuri’s clutter. Without waiting another second, he ripped open the lid and pulled out the chilled blood bag. It took less than a second for him to rip off the stopper and crush it to his lips.

“Hey! We’re saving that!” Yuri hissed.

Glorious ichor flooded over his tongue and Viktor moaned with the delight of it. Every cell in his body sang with relief. Already, he could feel the slashes across his chest closing and healing with its power. And yet, the bag was empty before he’d even gotten a proper mouthful.

It wasn’t enough. He _knew_ it wasn’t enough.

He’d have to hunt. Yet again. 

Groaning, he flung himself backwards onto the tatami mats. Viktor hated hunting.

“Wanna tell me why you used up our last bag?” Yuri groused as he stepped into a pair of black jeans.

Viktor sat up to shed his coat, scarf, and the night shirt the baker had loaned him. It was to Yuri’s credit that he didn’t gasp or wince at the revealed skin, simply stared at the angry red flesh with hard eyes. The wounds had sealed thanks to the blood, but they hadn’t disappeared yet and Viktor knew without glancing down that they still looked awful. Once he had more human blood in his system, they’d disappear within an hour.

“Explain.” Yuri’s glittering green eyes narrowed.

Viktor rubbed his neck and looked up at him. “Well, we’re not alone, that’s for sure.”

Yuri pulled a graphic tee with a lion on the front over his golden head. When he popped back out through the neck hole, static created a halo of the driest hairs. Viktor couldn’t help the smile that touched his lips.

His humor was ignored entirely. “Tell me. How many? What are we dealing with?”

“Too many for the two of us to handle on our own. Last night was just a sampling I’m sure. There’s a whole coven here.”

“In such a small town?”

“Apparently.”

Yuri plopped down in front of Viktor and stabbed a sharp finger into his chest. “Details, old man.”

Viktor blew his silver hair out of his face and sighed. “Can’t I sleep? I barely got any last night.”

“No.”

“Fine,” he shrugged. “I didn’t go looking for trouble, you know. It found me. I wasn’t even in a seedy area of the docks. I just walked past an unassuming alley between two shops and was grabbed from behind. Six of them--strong and snarling--surrounded me.”

“And you couldn’t fight them off? Aren’t you like, I don’t know, a thousand years old?”

“Four-hundred-and-six, Yuri.”

“Whatever.”

“May I continue?” Viktor arched a brow.

Yuri waved an irritated hand.

“They told me the Coryphee was watching and that their coven didn’t take kindly to undocumented vampires encroaching on their territory.”

“Who’s the Coryph--wait, undocumented, my ass!” Yuri shrieked.

“I think they meant something like a vampire visa…I didn’t get much information, what with all the fighting and slashing, but I think this Coryphee, whoever they are, must require some sort of permission before moving into the area,” Viktor said.

“That’s ridiculous,” Yuri huffed.

“It’s not, actually. It makes a lot of sense. If we weren’t trying to lie low, I would have followed the proper channels. I was careless and I got punished for it.”

Yuri’s eyes cut to the side before staring back at the wall. “Are you alright?”

Warmth spread through Viktor’s chest at the uncharacteristic concern. “I’ll be fine, but we’ll need to hunt tonight after dark.”

Yuri perked up instantly. “Really? I’m _dying_.”

“You’re not dying.”

“You don’t know what it’s like to be this thirsty,” Yuri bit back. “I could drain that entire common room in there in minutes and yet you left me here alone just _hoping_ I wouldn’t.”

“First off, I _do_ know what it’s like to be that thirsty. Secondly, I trust you. You know better than to make that sort of mess.”

Whatever else Yuri was, he wasn’t a murderer. Viktor trusted him not to cross that line. Not while he was under Viktor’s care anyway.

“Well what has it been...like three hundred years since you felt what I’m going through?” Yuri crossed his arms and pouted petulantly.

“Something like that. I’ve paid my dues. You’ll get through it. Give it another fifty years. It’ll wear off.”

A tense silence spread between them. Viktor focused on breathing, attempting to force more healing energy into his wounds, but there simply hadn’t been enough blood in that bag to finish the job. Wishful thinking. Already, he dreaded the act of stopping himself just short of satisfaction just to avoid killing anyone tonight. He lay back down on the mats and closed his eyes.

“You should have let me go with you,” Yuri said quietly. “Wouldn’t’ve happened to you if you’d let me go, too.”

Viktor cracked open an eye and noticed that the young man was staring off at the wall with furrowed brows and a revealed fang biting into his pale lips. Viktor smiled. “What happened to me is precisely why I _didn_ _’t_ want you to go.”

A pillow hit him in the face and Viktor laughed.

“So? What now?” Yuri swiveled his head to look at him.

Viktor sighed, stuffing the pillow under the back of his head. “Now? I sleep for an hour or two and then go soak in the hot springs. Relax. No one will attack us in broad daylight, Yuri.”

“I’m not worried about someone attacking us!” Yuri spat. “And you’ll boil alive in that spring, idiot.”

“No, I won’t,” Viktor chimed.

Yuri’s scowl was the last thing VIktor heard before he drifted off to sleep, thoughts of his human rescuer fresh in his mind.

 

***

 

“Have a nice day. Come again,” Yuuri told the elderly lady and her granddaughter as they left the bakery.

Bells peeled as the door swung aside to send them on their way. A tall gentlemen held it open as they passed through.

“Welcome!” Yuuri called with a cheery tone before slipping into nonchalance in order to let the patron browse the baked goods in peace. Phichit hummed while he rearranged the cookies on display and Yuuri turned to ask him a question when a voice like warm silk spoke.

“Good morning! I wanted to thank you for last night.”

Yuuri’s head snapped around so quickly, his neck popped.

Standing before him was _the stranger_ , looking vibrant and healthy and, most importantly, _not_ cut to ribbons. “What are you—you were just—!”

The man smiled with heart-shaped lips in a way that turned Yuuri’s insides into a squirming pit of butterflies. The crystal blue eyes twinkled in the afternoon light filtering in through the front windows. Before either of them could say anything else, Phichit knocked an elbow into Yuuri’s side.

“Last _night,_ huh? Why, Yuuri, you sly devil. You didn’t tell me you went out on a date!” Phichit radiated excitement from his sparkling black eyes.

Yuuri’s gaze sharpened as he rounded on his friend. “We didn’t go out on a date!”

“What a shame,” the man said, his words sounding for all the world sincere and kind.

A scarlet flush flamed Yuuri’s cheeks and he busied himself with wiping the counter with the cloth he kept in his apron pocket. _Say something!_ he chided himself. Visions of the night before—of blood and jagged wounds—filled his mind. He looked up, taking in the handsome sight before him now. The man was dressed in a new coat and sweater with a pale grey scarf wound around the slender column of his neck. No blood peeked through any layers of his ensemble and where there should have been purple pits or other signs of exhaustion underneath his eyes, there was only pale skin, blooming pink from the cold air outside.

“Will you run to the back and fetch more bread, Phichit?” Yuuri asked, trying to force a politeness he didn’t feel into his tone.

Phichit rolled his eyes. “ _Really_? That’s how you’re going to play it?”

“Please, Phichit.”

“Fine.”

His friend held up his hands in surrender and backed away to the hallway leading around to the kitchens. Once Yuuri and the man were alone, he locked their eyes and glowered.

“You were a mess not eight hours ago. How are you like... _this_ now?” Yuuri whispered under his breath, gesturing to the man’s body.

A melodious laugh filled up the room and the man waved a hand through the air. “Just a few scratches. Nothing I can’t handle.”

As if to prove his point, he leaned forward until he rested one elbow casually on the counter, stretching his body at an angle—a move that would have strained the wounds Yuuri saw last night. And yet, the man didn’t wince or hiss in pain. Simply stood there smiling brightly at him, eyes aglow and lips perfect in a face that could have belonged to a model. _Perhaps it does_ , Yuuri thought.

Yuuri’s mouth dried up. “Just a few scratches,” he repeated, grasping for something to say.

“That’s right. I had a run in with a desperate alley cat when I tried to help it.”

Something like anger hardened Yuuri’s countenance. “You don’t honestly expect me to believe that, do you? A _cat_?”

The man drew circles on the counter with his finger, still smiling all the while. “They can be vicious creatures.”

“Creatures that don’t have claws _that_ big.”

For a moment, the stranger said nothing. Then, his head tilted up and he peered at Yuuri from beneath the fringe of silvery hair. “Will you tell me the name of my rescuer?”

Yuuri knew a subject change when he heard one. A part of him didn’t want to answer. The situation with this man was entirely too confounding and he just wanted it to be a part of his life he eventually filed away with other terrible encounters in his past. And yet, his mouth opened of its own accord and answered.

“Yuuri. Katsuki Yuuri.” He blanched. What had possessed him to lead with his given name?!

This information seemed to delight the man, however, if his show of perfectly white teeth was any indication. “Well, Yuuri, I wanted to thank you for what you did. It means a lot that you didn’t call an ambulance.”

Yuuri snapped out of his crisis over his name and crossed his arms. “You asked me not to.” And he very much wanted to know _why._

“Not everyone would have respected my wishes,” the man pointed out.

A thought occurred to Yuuri. For whatever reason, he had been pretty cold towards this man since he walked in. Distrustful and snappish. It wasn’t like him. Squaring his shoulders, he forcibly softened his features, realizing he was about to ask what he should have asked all along.

“Are you feeling better?”

Fine laugh-lines fanned out from blue eyes as the man’s smile widened. “Very much. Again, all thanks to you.”

Yuuri’s gaze dropped to the floor and he shifted his feet. “I still think you need stitches. I couldn’t exactly do what you needed with a home first-aid kit.”

“It was plenty.”

For a long moment, they simply stood there in the afternoon quiet. Cold winter sunlight lit up individual strands of the man’s hair, creating a glittering crown of orange against the silver. Yuuri was mesmerized by everything in this man’s appearance if he was being honest with himself. Had last night really, truly happened at all?

“You didn’t tell me your na--”

Bells plinked against one another as the door to the bakery opened, cutting off Yuuri’s question. Automatically, Yuuri leaned around the stranger and greeted--

“Minako-sensei!”

“Yuuri!” The tall woman gave him a wave and warm smile.

He turned back to the man to ostensibly ask him if he needed anything from under the glass and noticed with some alarm, that the stranger’s entire body had stiffened. Where there had been effortless fluidity and delicate curves, now stood straight, angular attention. The man was fully upright, staring at Minako in wary shock.

 _Do they know each other_? Yuuri’s eyes traveled between them. Minako had gone still as well, but on her face he saw the same happy countenance as always. Her eyes did do a once over of the man’s form, taking him in with mild interest.

“I’m sorry about last night,” she said, something strange curling behind her accented English.

Yuuri blinked. _Last night?_

The man’s smile had grown tight. Plastic. “Thank you for your concern, but I’m fine.”

Minako crossed lithe arms across her chest and jutted out a hip. “I’m glad to hear it.”

Yuuri got the feeling he was observing something private and busied himself with doing visual counts of his inventory in the glass cases, all the while listening intently for more.

After what felt like hours of tension, the man turned to Yuuri and said, “I just wanted to stop by and extend my gratitude in person, Yuuri. It was lovely to meet you.”

Yuuri’s lips parted to speak, but the man had already turned to leave. He brushed past Minako, very pointedly leaving enough space so they didn’t touch in the small room, and pushed the door open. The bells announced his departure and Yuuri was almost sad to see him go. He’d probably never lay eyes on the stranger again. It was almost a shame to only behold such beauty twice in a lifetime.

Whatever spell had befallen the little bakery dissipated and Minako melted into her usual self, beaming at Yuuri with flashing eyes and a spunky attitude. She sauntered up to the counter and ruffled his hair.

“Why haven’t you been at dance practice, hmm?”

His head pushed against her hand and he swatted the pale fingers away goodnaturedly. “I haven’t had a night off in ages.”

Concern edged into her ageless features. “You’re working too hard, Yuuri.”

“You’re one to talk, Minako-sensei. How’s the snack bar? Have you gotten anymore students at the studio?”

The long fall of her brown hair slipped over her shoulder as she cocked her head. “Business is fine. I got _three_ new students, actually. You’ll have to ask Yuuko about that.”

“The triplets are doing ballet?” Yuuri couldn’t imagine his coworker’s rowdy children being anything but adorable hellions. Did they even possess the grace required for dance class?

Minako nodded, laughing. “They joined last week.”

“Yuuko comes in at two. I Can’t believe she didn’t tell me!”

“Perhaps she wanted to surprise you with their first recital. It’s in a month.”

Yuuri shook his head, smiling.

He missed dance. It was the one thing he’d regretted since opening his bakery. It had been almost impossible to trade one passion for another, but there was rarely enough time for everything in life. Memories of long nights spent in Minako’s studio rolled through his mind and he felt his muscles twitch with the urge to complete old routines, his ears longed for remembered music.

“Maybe I’ll have to stop by sometime when Phichit’s closing.”

Minako patted his hand. “You know I’m happy to work with your schedule, Yuuri. There is no pressure, though. You’re insanely busy. I know what it’s like running your own business. Burning the candle at both ends can grow very old very quickly.”

She wasn’t wrong. But Yuuri took in the sight of his little place--the pictures of flowers and landscapes he’d hung on the walls, the snowflakes he’d put on the windows for children to celebrate the winter season, the rows and racks of his baked goods waiting to go home with the right people. Despite all the work and stress, this place soothed something essential inside of him.

“I think I’m still in the blissful, passionate phase, thankfully,” he said.

“That’s very good, Yuuri.”

An impulse nagged at the base of his skull. He was forgetting something. Something important. Minako’s grey eyes never strayed from his and Yuuri suddenly, _desperately_ wanted to look away, but found he couldn’t. Cold sweat prickled his hairline and his heartbeat slowed. What was it he’d meant to ask her about?

A flash of the man’s face came unbidden and Yuuri exhaled.

“What happened between you and that man last night, Minako-sensei?” he asked, voice low.

She regarded him with a look Yuuri couldn’t decipher before chuckling, “You don’t know _everything_ about my life, Yuuri. Maybe he’s a friend.” She arched an eyebrow.

Minako had him there. Yuuri hadn’t exactly been able to see her much in recent weeks. But there was still something immensely strange about the way his old teacher and the man had interacted with each other. Definitely as if they were wary of one another.

“How do you know him?” he rephrased the question.

“I don’t,” she remarked, inspecting her long nails.

“He seemed to know you,” Yuuri pointed out. “And then there’s your apology.”

Minako’s brows drew together slightly, an uncharacteristic seriousness bleeding into her visage. “Don’t worry about it Yuuri.”

A pat on the cheek that would have been patronizing coming from anyone else sent Yuuri into a flurry of confusion. “But--”

She put a finger to his lips and shook her head. “Just forget about it. Forget _him_. He’s just a stranger passing through. Nothing more.”

The words echoed in his mind. Yuuri would have said something more, but Minako shook her head again. “I’ll see you around, kiddo.”

With that, she glided out of the bakery, back onto the street, and away.

Yuuri stood there for several minutes just thinking about what he’d just experienced with the man and Minako. None of it made any sense. There were no threads he could pull together to weave a whole. The entire encounter left him feeling like a child who’d been relegated to age-appropriate activities rather than the more interesting things adults got up to. As if he’d been dismissed and left out of something important. One side of him wanted to drop it, as Minako had suggested. Chances were good he’d never see the man again. And yet...another part of him couldn’t let it go.

Footsteps from the hallway cut through his scattered thoughts, reminding him that he still had a business to run. Phichit emerged with two trays loaded with bread loaves, one balanced on each outstretched hand.

“A little help, please?” Phichit asked.

Yuuri took one of the trays and set it on the counter.

“Aww he’s gone?” Phichit started unloading bread from the tray into baskets on the table behind the counter.

“Yep,” Yuuri said. “Gone.”

And something about his sudden departure left a tangle of questions in Yuuri’s mind. But one thing ate at him most of all; an unnecessary frivolity that pained him, though it shouldn’t have.

He still didn’t know the stranger’s name.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N - T_T You guys have been so nice about this fic! At this point, I'm plotting out chapters at a time, so I'm not sure how long it will be in total yet, but I'm thinking pretty long. Like I said last time, I'm thinking of updating 2x a week, but that will only hold as long as my busy schedule doesn't get crazy. Thanks for all of the lovely comments! <3

“Sooooo? What really happened last night?” Phichit bumped Yuuri’s shoulder as they put the last of the bread into baskets.

Yuuri’s hand remained on a warm loaf while he thought of what to say. Should he tell Phichit the truth? It all sounded so crazy even in his own head. And there was the issue of the man’s sense of privacy. Anyone who didn’t want an ambulance to help with terrible wounds probably didn’t want random people knowing about them either. Yuuri decided to keep it to himself for now.

He settled on, “It’s not what you think.”

“Oh, really,” Phichit put a fist on his hip and gave Yuuri a disbelieving look. “Because  _ I  _ think you and that adonis went on a date last night!”

_ Yeah...one that included lots of blood and antiseptic... _ “I already told you, it wasn’t a date,” Yuuri groaned.

His friend rolled dark eyes and clenched fistfuls of his hair in his hands. “Well what  _ did  _ happen, Yuuri? Tell me,  _ please _ . Put me out of my misery.”

The lie didn’t come easily. “He came in after you left last night and asked me for directions.”

“Directions. To where?”

Yuuri searched his mind and picked something appropriately touristy. “Hasetsu Castle.”

Phichit’s eyes glazed over. “Yuuri, you can see that castle from every vantage point in the city.”

“Sure, but getting there is another story. He admitted his sense of direction wasn’t very good.”

“Doesn’t he have a phone with a maps app?”

This was turning out to be harder than he thought. Yuuri hated lying to Phichit and he should have known better than to expect his friend would take a simple answer and move on.

“I don’t know, Phichit. Look, he dropped in, I helped him out, end of story. We’ll probably never see him again.”

Phichit held up his hands and waved them side to side. “Okay, okay, buddy. Whatever you say.”

Yuuri frowned. “Like he’d ever ask someone like me out on a date anyway.”

“Hey! What makes you say that?” Phichit scoffed.

He shrugged, but mentally supplied a few reasons.  _ I’m awkward, too soft around the middle, and the only thing I’m good at is baking. _

“Stop it. Whatever you’re doing in that pretty head of yours, just stop it. You’re too hard on yourself. You’re a great catch for anybody, Yuuri!” Phichit shoved a wagging finger in his face.

Yuuri pushed it aside with the back of his left hand and sighed, “Phichit, I haven’t been out on a date since freshman year of college and that was a group date.”

“And that went well, right?”

“The guy didn’t even remember my name at the end of the night.”

Phichit winced, but plowed right ahead. “Yuuri, you can’t let a bad experience ruin your excitement for the future. That stranger today  _ totally  _ thought you were cute. Didn’t you feel the vibe he was putting out?”

“No.”

“He said, ‘what a shame’ when you told me you guys hadn’t gone out on a date.  _ That’s _ proof enough right there! Totally flirting.”

Yuuri could tell he was blushing, but he ignored it and prayed for a customer to show up so he could exit this conversation while he still had some dignity. Phichit was not to be deterred, however.

“Come to the party with me this Friday. I’ll prove it to you just how desirable you are. Believe me, you’ll have plenty of interested guys and girls hanging on your every word.”

“Phichit,” Yuuri exhaled, pinching the bridge of his nose and pushing his glasses up a bit. “I’m not going to one of your loud college parties. That’s just not my scene.”

“Well what about online dating? Ever thought about doing that?”

“Phichit!” Yuuri practically yelled.

His friend froze.

“Look, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I just don’t have time for a relationship right now. I’ve got too much on my plate as it is. When I’m ready to start looking for someone, you’ll be the first to know.”

Phichit went quiet for several moments. Then, “Promise?”

“Promise.” Yuuri managed a smile for his friend.

Finally, the bells rang and several customers walked in together. It was a blessed relief to lose himself in work after that. Thoughts of the stranger and Phichit’s insistence that Yuuri think about dating hung around in the back of his mind, but they had so many customers for a while that Yuuri didn't get too tangled up in his head like he normally would.

By four o’clock, he was in a calmer mood and ready to end his work day since it was Phichit’s turn to close.

“Tell your parents and Mari, I said hi!” Phichit called to him as Yuuri slipped the neck-strap of his apron over his head and hung it on a peg in the kitchen.

“I will,” he answered, taking out the keys to his apartment door.

After changing into some fresh athletic clothes that didn’t smell constantly of tempting food, he gathered up his laundry into a ratty old backpack and toted it down the stairs and out the back kitchen door. He slipped it over his shoulders and exhaled into the frosty air. Even if he didn’t dance much anymore, Yuuri still ran almost every evening.

Running with a backpack full of laundry was just another chance for a good workout. A chance to whittle down the extra bit of flesh he seemed to perpetually carry around his middle. Forgoing dance lessons in an attempt to have more time to work on his bakery business had taken out a huge piece of his fitness activities. He’d watched his abdominal muscles go soft with alarming swiftness. Despite his daily running, Yuuri had gained weight easily.

He knew he’d have to join the local gym and start weight training again if he wanted to tone up his body to his satisfaction. His genetic proclivities bothered him, made him feel self-conscious around men like the stranger who seemed to be built of solid marble and sex appeal. Yuuri had to work hard for every ounce of muscle on his body and was proud when he could see even hints of definition in his arms and belly.

Pumping his arms and legs through the cold wind created by his momentum, he found himself letting thoughts fade and the murmur of his mind dissipate into a pleasant haze. Running took all his focus. For some reason, despite years of doing it, the runs never grew easier and it allowed him to force out thoughts about his business, family drama,  _ friend  _ drama, and things like the man’s wounds in favor of the strike of his feet on the pavement and the coiling tension in his muscles. His breath fogged up in front of him and Yuuri longed for the warmth of his parents’ hot spring resort. Yu-Topia Katsuki wasn’t that far from his bakery and he’d have to extend his run once he made it back to his apartment in order for the activity to even qualify as having been exercise.

The familiar gate with its colorful banners came into view, lanterns on stone posts in front of it cheerily lit against the dying sunlight. Yuuri smiled. It still felt like home despite the fact that he’d been living above the bakery for over a year. A new sign hung beside the ordinary hot spring emblem, advertising rooms for nightly rent. He was proud of his parents’ resourcefulness. Not only were they the last hot spring resort in Hasetsu, but now they were one of the only traditional inns as well. It had been Mari’s idea and their parents had willingly agreed, spending what they could on a bit of remodeling to accommodate more overnight guests that would allow them to have maximum comfort and a traditional Japanese experience.

Yuuri was used to seeing a bevy of locals fill up the common room, but now when he visited, he expected to see at least a few foreigners among them. He passed beneath the gate and jogged up to the front doors. Once inside, a rush of warmth invaded his chilled limbs and he sighed in contentment. The backpack had grown heavy ages ago. He slipped it off his shoulders and toed off his shoes in the large tile genkan. A steady hum of laughter and conversation drifted into the small lobby from the common room, the doors of which were closed to ward off the chill seeping through the building’s extremities. Yuuri had already warmed up a bit, but anticipated feeling even more comfortable as he slid aside the door to the busy room.

It was full of people, as usual. Most were crowded around the TV set in the back of the room, watching a replay of a baseball game. Alcohol was abundant and the deliciously savory scent of his mother’s cooking drifted like incense on the air. Yuuri’s mouth watered, imagining his a large bowl of katsudon. He knew he really shouldn’t eat it at all because of the sheer enormous amount of calories, but he allowed himself to have it once a month as a special treat. Mentally, he counted back the days and weeks and realized he hadn’t had a bowl of it in a while. Perhaps tonight he’d give in to her offering.

His eyes scanned the room for unfamiliar heads. When he made it to a shocking crown of silver, his whole body stilled.  _ No...it couldn’t be… _

But it was.

The man sat at one of the low tables, sipping from a sake cup. Beside him, a blonde-headed young man growled something in what Yuuri assumed was Russian based on his shoddy memory of a foreign film he’d seen in college once. Whatever the teen said made the man laugh riotously. The sound sent waves of soothing pleasure through Yuuri. This stranger really did have the best voice he’d ever heard. He shook his head to clear it of such thoughts. Most importantly:  _ what was he doing  _ here  _ of all places? _

Yuuri left his backpack at the door and politely sidestepped between other tables until he stood next to the one with the man and his friend. The movement must have caught the man’s attention, because he stopped laughing and turned his head back to investigate. When he caught sight of Yuuri, his blue eyes widened and a beaming smile broke out on his face.

“It’s you!” the man called, switching to English.

Yuuri blanched, adjusting his glasses to give himself something to do under the happy scrutiny. “Er...yeah. It’s me.”

“Are you here to watch the game with the others?” the man asked.

“Oh, no. My parents own this place. I’m here to have dinner with them later,” Yuuri told him, not sure why he revealed such a thing right away.

“Oh!”

As they spoke, the blonde teen glared angrily between them. Yuuri wondered what his problem was. Had he interrupted an important conversation between the man and this kid? He opened his mouth to introduce himself to the younger man when a familiar voice interrupted him.

“Yuuri, dear! How nice to see you. Can you help me with these?”

His mother’s cheery Japanese flipped a linguistic switch in Yuuri’s mind. With Phichit, he spoke mostly English with a smattering of Thai and Japanese, and though he spoke to nearly all of his customers in Japanese, there was something comforting about being home in his parents’ house, speaking the same language that filled him with joy. “Sure, Mom.”

She carried two trays laden with heaping bowls of katsudon and plates of squid sashimi. Just looking at all the food reminded him of how hungry he was. Too bad his family didn’t eat their dinner until much later at night. He’d just have to wait and do his laundry in the meantime. His mom pointed out which meals went to which tables and Yuuri nodded, setting about fulfilling their orders. Most of the local patrons had known him since he was a kid and he made small talk with them about their families and jobs as he delivered their food. But all the while, he kept an ear trained on the table with the man and teenager.

They mumbled under their breaths to each other in rapid-fire Russian, which he couldn’t understand at all, but after he had emptied his trays and was on his way back to the noren separating the common room from the kitchen, he heard, “ _ Yuuuuuri… _ ”

He froze by their table, “What?”

For the first time, the blonde looked at him and spoke in angrily accented English, “He was talking to  _ me,  _ Piggy.”

Yuuri flushed at the meanness of the nickname.

“Be polite,” the man chastised, then turned brightly, “ _ His  _ name is Yuri, too!”

“It was my name  _ first _ ,” the blonde huffed, dropping a pointed chin into his open palm.

Yuuri was certain that wasn’t possible and laughed a little. The sound earned him a set of dagger-like green eyes glinting in his direction.

“Unusual,” Yuuri remarked. “I don’t hear of many people named Yuuri here.”

“It’s a common name in Russia,” the man supplied.

Yuuri realized he had the perfect in for this, “What’s your name?”

The man’s cheeks pinked up beautifully. “I’m Viktor Nikiforov.”

The teen Yuri’s mouth opened in shock and he glowered at the man beside him.

Yuuri smiled. “It’s nice to know your name, Viktor.”

Their eyes met and something fuzzy and warm curled up in Yuuri’s stomach. The moment lasted until Yuri scowled and punctured the atmosphere. It brought Yuuri back to the task at hand. Trays. Kitchen.

“Can I get the two of you anything?” he asked, remembering where he was and what his mother had tasked him with.

Viktor shook his head. “No, thank you, Yuuri. We’re fine.”

He nodded and tried to walk away in a fashion that  _ didn’t  _ seem as though he knew Viktor watched his retreat. Once he passed through the noren and into the kitchen, Yuuri exhaled, clutching his chest.  _ Viktor.  _ A beautiful name for a beautiful man. Finally he could stop thinking of him as “the stranger” in his mind.

“Yuuri? Are you alright?” His mother asked from a few feet away.

“Yeah. I’m fine,” he said, straightening up and moving over to join her at the counter where she was slivering onions.

“Did you bring your laundry with you? You could go do it while you wait on dinner.”

“Oh, yeah, let me go get my backpack.”

He retrieved his pack from where he’d set it earlier and tried not to wither under the direct attention he received from the younger Yuri as he strode across the room. What had he done to offend him? Simply been born with the same name? Once safely inside the kitchen again, he felt the tension ease.

“Mari can probably help you with that.” His mother pointed to the pack with her paring knife.

“No, I’ve got it,” he assured her.

He was almost past his mother and out of the kitchen into the hallway beyond when he stopped. “Hey, Mom. How long have the two Russians been here?”

The slightly squishy sound of the sliced onions splitting beneath the knife was the only noise for a moment. Then his mother said, “Just one night so far. They checked in early yesterday. Why?”

“Just wondering.”

“They’re good boys. A bit thin and pale, though. Can’t get them to eat a bite of anything. I certainly don’t speak Russian and my English isn’t that great, you know. We’re having a bit of trouble communicating. Mari’s usually too busy with something when they’re here, so she hasn’t been able to help. Would you mind asking if they need anything?”

Yuuri frowned. “I already did. They declined.”

“Oh,” she said. “Well, perhaps they’ll want something later.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

He left and wandered down to the laundry room, pondering Viktor and Yuri all the while. What were they doing in Japan, let alone Hasetsu? Could it be some sort of business trip? Was the teenager Viktor’s brother? They didn’t particularly look alike, but they obviously shared some sort of connection for them to be traveling together. He pulled clothes out of the backpack and piled them on the white table between the industrial washers and dryers. His fingers stilled when he pulled out the bloodied pants the man had worn last night. Perhaps he should have thrown them away. Would Viktor want them back? Considering they were likely ruined at this point, probably not. His sister Mari would know how to fix them, but he didn’t want to suffer her barrage of questions.

Decision made, he stuffed the pants into the trash bin in the back of the room, arranging them so they were beneath other discarded items until he felt sure they’d go unnoticed when the bag was collected. Yuuri wasn’t sure why he had gathered them up with the rest of his laundry at all.

“Rich enough with that baking business to throw away clothing now, little bro?” Mari’s gravelly voice startled him.

He shot up and turned to the door where she stood lighting a cigarette. “Thought you were gonna quit?”

“I’ll quit tomorrow,” she lied, blowing smoke from her nostrils.

Yuuri watched the gray haze travel from the threshold into the hallway and out the cracked door that led outside into the family’s back garden. Mari must have slid it part way open herself just recently, as the laundry room still held much of its warmth. He still shivered when a rush of wind gusted through. He’d given up asking her not to smoke around him.

“I’m not throwing away good clothes. Those have just had it.” It wasn’t a lie, but hopefully Mari wouldn’t press him about it further and cause him to make something up to explain the blood.

“Whatever,” she sighed, leaning her head back against the door jamb. “How’s the bakery?”

“Things are good. Busy.”

“Make up any new recipes recently?” She took a long drag on the cigarette.

He smiled as he tossed the clothes into the washer. “I’ve been toying with a new cake batter idea.”

“Can’t wait to try it sometime.”

“I’ll text you next time I’m working on it and you can be my taste tester,” he promised.

She nodded.

“Hey, Mari,” he paused while he put in the detergent and turned on the machine. “Do you know anything about those two Russians who’re staying here?”

She shrugged a shoulder. “Not really. That younger one looks just like Takao. When I found out his name was Yuri, too, I started calling him ‘Yurio’ in my mind to keep you two straight.”

_ Yurio _ . The kid would probably go ballistic if he knew. “Takao? From that band you like?”

“Yeah.”

The humming drone of the washing machine wasn’t quite enough to drown out the burbles of sound from Yuuri’s hungry stomach and he rolled his eyes at Mari’s knowing smirk.

“Hungry?”

“Starving. I had a small lunch.”

“Well, come on. I’m sure there’s a snack lying around somewhere to tie you over until dinner,” Mari said, pushing off the door casing.

He followed her from the room and back toward the kitchen. His mom was still there cutting vegetables to replenish the prep bowls on the counter and his dad had joined her, cutting meat into smaller pieces for breading. Mari joined their parents, asking about a snack for Yuuri and while she did, he skirted to the noren, lifting aside one of the fabric panels. He’d hoped to get another glimpse of Viktor, but their table was empty.

Viktor and Yuri were gone.

 

 

***

 

 

Viktor had hoped to see Yuuri again, but hadn’t expected it to be so soon. He still felt a dreaminess to his steps that sent him swaying slightly against Yuri as they walked down the darkening streets.

“Oi, get off,” Yuri snapped.

It wasn’t just seeing the cute baker again. It was also the need for blood that had Viktor lightheaded. His wounds had continued to heal throughout the day, but they were still taking a toll on him. Viktor renewed his endeavor to walk in a straight line.

“Why’d you tell that guy your full name? I thought we were trying to keep a low profile.” Yuri walked beside Viktor the way he did everything else, with determination that bordered on hostility.

“Relax, Yuri. No one knows us here.”

“Doesn’t mean Yakov won’t hear about our location if you go blabbing to everyone about who you are. You could’ve given the Piggy a false name at least.”

“I think he’s cute,” Viktor sighed.

“You’ve  _ got  _ to be kidding me,” Yuri groaned.

And the notion that no one knew them wasn’t quite correct. Viktor’s gait stiffened as he thought about the woman from the bakery this afternoon. It was unusual to see vampires out in the daylight. It was part of the reason Viktor and Yuri had adapted to a diurnal schedule in the first place. But that woman—Minako, Yuuri had called her—was a vampire through and through. And _ old _ . Very old, if Viktor’s senses told him anything. She’d mentioned being sorry for last night. Had she been the one to send those men after him? Was she the “coryphee” the brutes had mentioned? It wasn’t far-fetched to think that a vampire as old as she obviously was may be in charge of the local coven.

He glanced to Yuri on his left and pursed his lips. He wouldn’t tell him about Minako until he knew more. Street lamps along the sidewalk flickered to life as the last remnants of twilight winked out. VIktor swept his gaze over their surroundings, searching for dark, empty alleys where they might lie in wait for wandering pedestrians or restaurant workers on their breaks.

Hunting had grown to be a tedious activity that Viktor usually reserved for times when their supply of blood bags was low. And their supply had dwindled to zero. Like all vampires, he loved the thrill of the chase and the feeling of biting into real human flesh, but all the logistics that went along with it were annoying. He hated spending hours of his night waiting on humans to find their way into secluded places. If he were alone, he could have gone to a bar and charmed a handsome man himself, but with Yuri, things were more complicated. Yuri simply looked too young to go into such places.

And Viktor didn’t trust Yuri’s safety enough to let him hunt alone or even leave him alone on the street to wait while he lured prey to them. Especially not in an unfamiliar town like Hasetsu.

“What about there?” Yuri jerked his head to the right.

Viktor took in a narrow gap between a ramen shop and a family restaurant. It looked appropriately creepy and cluttered and, most importantly, dark. He nodded and peeled off to the right, weaving through the trash cans and recycling bins until he could lean against the cement wall at the back of the alley. Yuri followed, perching beside him. They settled in to wait.

Minutes passed. Viktor yawned. His fangs ached with hunger and his eyes watered in the need for sleep. Beside him, Yuri fidgeted endlessly. He had never been very good at standing still. Viktor put a hand on his shoulder. He stilled.

“I hate waiting,” Yuri grumbled.

“So do I.”

Fortune smiled upon them and within fifteen minutes, a middle-aged restaurant worker stepped out of one of the metal doors that opened onto the alleyway. Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved a packet of cigarettes and a lighter.

“Eww.” Yuri’s nose wrinkled.

Viktor chuckled, “Beggars can’t be choosers.”

“Just trance him and let’s get this over with.”

Steeling himself, Viktor gathered what energy he had left and concentrated it in his throat. He strode right up to the man while he was lighting up his cigarette. Before their prey could scream or gasp in shock, Viktor’s hand shot out, pinning the man to the cinderblock wall by the neck in a tight chokehold.

“You will not scream,” Viktor soothed, tendrils of purple smoke issuing from his lips. The pale mist drifted over the man’s face until it seeped into his eyes, coloring the irises with iridescent light.

“I will not scream…” the raspy voice repeated in heavily accented English.

“You will not struggle,” Viktor whispered almost lovingly.

“I will not struggle…”

The smoke dissipated, but the man’s eyes remained the strange opalescent hue and his body went slack against the wall.

“Yuri,” Viktor said, shifting out of the way and removing his hand from the man’s neck.

With a swiftness and grace that always instilled a sense of pride in Viktor, Yuri lunged forward and grasped their prey in his arms. In seconds, he had shoved aside the collared shirt and bitten into the tender flesh that waited beneath. Viktor’s mouth watered as the sucking sounds reached his ears. Yuri never went too long despite his considerable bloodlust. Within two or three minutes, he was finished and stepped aside for Viktor to take a turn. Always so disciplined. 

It was always the same for Viktor. Every splash of blood on his tongue sent ripples of ecstasy through his body. This time, though, Viktor drank to seal his wounds as much as to sate his hunger. It took a few minutes, but soon, he felt his wounds sealing, leaving behind nothing but pale scars that would fade in a few hours. It was different with a living body. The blood bags were akin to human travel rations and would work in a pinch, but it was nothing compared to the real thing. There was an energy to fresh human blood that Viktor always missed when he didn’t hunt.

“Better stop before you kill him,” Yuri remarked dryly, inspecting his nails.

Viktor reluctantly pulled off, his lips unsealing with a soft pop. He felt slightly dazed and drunk with the man’s blood surging through his system. When he moved back, the man fell to the ground in an unceremonious heap. Yuri glanced behind them, but no one walked past that would notice the sound.

“You could have let him down slowly, genius.”

“Sorry.” Viktor swayed and put a hand to the wall to steady himself. “Those wounds took a lot out of me. I didn’t mean to go on for so long.”

“Here, out of the way,” Yuri ordered, kneeling beside the body.

Viktor’s eyes drifted that direction, checking to make sure the barrel chest rose and fell in regular, unconscious rhythm. Thankfully, the man was still alive. Yuri took a bandage out of his pocket, ripped off the backing, and placed it over the neat puncture wounds that were already clotting. The cigarette and lighter had fallen a few feet away. Yuri retrieved those, too, and placed them in the man’s right hand where it lay outstretched from his body.

“Let’s get out of here,” the younger vampire said.

Viktor did one more check of their surroundings for any stray flecks of blood on the wall or ground. Finding nothing, he nodded and followed Yuri from the alleyway back out onto the street. There was already a lighter sensation in his body and a mental sharpness in his mind that helped him feel more like himself. As they walked, he whistled a tune he’d heard playing softly in the background of the bakery that afternoon.

“Ugh, you’re disgusting when you’re happy,” Yuri scowled. “It’s not like you have anything to be happy about. We’re both still starving.”

“ _ You’re _ starving,” Viktor corrected.

“If you’d just let me drink until I’m full, I wouldn’t be starving,” Yuri countered.

“We’re not killing anyone, Yura. Not ever.”

Yuri rolled his eyes. “Whoever heard of vampires that don’t kill anyone?”

“Most of the vampires I know choose not to kill their victims,” Viktor pointed out.

His companion didn’t look any happier for knowing that knowledge. They wandered through the thinning crowds in a direct route back to the hot spring inn. Viktor wondered if Yuuri would still be there. He checked his watch. It wasn’t that late. It was possible. They passed beneath the gate and were met with a roar of applause and excitement from within the building.

“That baseball game must be going well,” Viktor suggested.

Yuri gave him a blank look and went inside first.

Viktor peeked into the common room and saw a group of inebriated locals grouped around the TV set where the baseball game was indeed still playing. Unfortunately, Yuuri wasn’t anywhere in sight. Viktor’s heightened vampiric sense of smell was only good for finding blood and he hadn’t been around Yuuri long enough to pick out his scent among the other human bodies in the inn. Sighing, he shut the door to the common room and trailed down the hall after Yuri.

Once in their room, the blonde when straight for his phone and plopped down on the futon they’d left rolled out from this morning. His thumbs flew across the backlit screen and he ignored Viktor completely as he propelled himself into his own world of social media and group chats.

“I thought we were trying to keep a low profile?” Viktor threw Yuri’s own words back at him.

“I’m talking with other vampires. Lay off,” Yuri hissed.

“Other vampires that might tell Yakov where we are?” Viktor shed his coat and scarf before quickly changing into pajama pants and a loose shirt.

“They won’t tell. I haven’t told them where we are and most of us on here like to keep anonymous anyway.”

“I hope you’re right, Yura,” Viktor sighed, lying down on his own futon and pulling the covers over his body. “Can you turn off the light, please? I need to catch up on my sleep.”

“No.”

“Yuuuuura…”

“Ugh,  _ fine _ , God.”

The room blinked into darkness and Viktor’s eyes adjusted immediately. It was almost the same as having the light  _ on _ , but it was nicer in the dark. Beside him, the tapping of Yuri’s thumbs became a pleasant background noise as he closed his eyelids and breathed deeply. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if Yakov found them, but Viktor wasn’t ready to face him just yet. Not after the harsh words they’d exchanged. If he knew his sire like he thought he did, Viktor knew Yakov would cool off in a year or two. Maybe three tops. They just had to lay low until then and return when the leader of the St. Petersburg coven was in a better mood.

Yuuri’s face swirled in his mind and Viktor smiled beneath the covers. Hasetsu was a nice enough place. If he and Yuri could stay out of the local coven’s way and not make waves, perhaps Viktor could find some means of getting to know the handsome baker. It had been decades since he’d had a romantic distraction and he’d never courted a human before as a vampire. There was something about Yuuri that drew him. Something indefinable and effervescent that made Viktor feel calm and safe.

Whatever it was, he intended to find out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, all! thanks again for the comments and kudos! Y'all are making my week! <3

Yuuri curled around the pillow in his arms and tried to breathe in the scent Viktor had left behind. Part of him felt acutely creepy for doing so, but he’d never actually  _ had  _ a man in his bed before. Even if it wasn’t for romantic reasons, Yuuri still felt a thrill knowing someone other than himself had slept here. Visions of the night came with the foreign scent in the pillowcase and he dwelled on Viktor’s handsome face for a few moments. Just like this afternoon at the bakery, Viktor had seemed healthy and well tonight in the common room.

How had he bounced back from wounds like that so quickly? Was he simply good at hiding his pain? Yuuri would be bedridden if his stomach was hacked all to pieces like that. Perhaps the pain had been the reason Viktor hadn’t eaten any of the inn’s food. Or maybe the Russians simply didn’t find Japanese cuisine to their taste. He shook his head and buried his face in the pillow. He needed to stop thinking about Viktor and Yuri. They weren’t his problem and it would be weird for him to find excuses to see them.

He finally drifted off, but he dreamed of silver hair in sunlight and a heart-shaped mouth smiling happily down at him.

Morning came, and Yuuri found his thoughts drifting to Viktor again over and over as he kneaded bread dough and shoved trays of unbaked cookies and pastries into the oven. Memories of bloodied bandages sent waves of concern through his nerves as he opened the bakery and filled the first orders of the day. A ghost of a smile here and the twinkling of blue eyes there flitted through his mind as he successfully dealt with the first rush of morning customers. When Phichit came in around eleven, Yuuri was almost ready to abandon his shift and run to his parents’ resort to see if Viktor had made it through the night alive again.

“Hiya, boss! Has Mr. Directions shown up again?” Phichit asked as he tied his green apron around his front.

Yuuri turned and dropped the bomb, “He’s actually staying at my parents’ inn, weirdly enough.”

Phichit’s mouth fell open. “You’re kidding!”

“No, I’m really not. I found out his name. It’s Viktor Nikiforov. He’s got some teenager with him--maybe his little brother?--who, get this, is also named Yuri.”

“Weeeeird.”

“Yeah…”

Phichit came over to the counter and rearranged the paper snowflakes he’d strewn across the top of the glass cases the day before. “Dude, maybe it’s fate or something that you two keep running into each other.”

“Or it’s just a small town and a silver-haired foreigner is bound to turn up.”

“Hasetsu’s not  _ that  _ small and what are the odds that he’d be staying at your parents’ inn and not one of the fancier hotels?”

“Hey, are you saying my parents’ inn isn’t fancy?” Yuuri bumped Phichit’s arm with his.

“You know what I meant.”

“It is strange, I guess, but maybe they just want a quieter, more authentic place to stay?” Yuuri suggested.

“I don’t know. All I do know is that he was totally checking you out yesterday and you’d be a dummy not to flirt back.” Phichit finished with the snowflakes and moved on to redoing Yuuri’s efforts to organize the cookie trays.

Yuuri had no idea  _ how _ to flirt with someone and it certainly wasn’t something he did naturally. He still didn’t believe Phichit that Viktor had been “checking him out” anyway. What if he tried flirting back and turned out looking like a complete idiot when Viktor politely shot him down? He moved the subject of conversation off himself by asking Phichit about his ice skating lessons at the local Ice Castle and about his classes for the semester. As predicted, Phichit switched topics immediately and prattled Yuuri’s ear off for the rest of the morning.

Around noon, Yuuko stopped by, even though it was her day to work at Ice Castle for the full day, and ushered Axel, Lutz, and Loop--her adorable triplets--into the bakery.

“Morning, Yuuri!” the girls chimed. They wore their ballet outfits, covered by matching puffy winter jackets.

“Morning, girls,” Yuuri said, already reaching for their favorite treats from the class case.

“What about me, ladies? Don’t I get a good morning?” Phichit came around the counter and put his hands on his hips.

“Is it true you did a double axel the other day, Phichit?” Loop asked, jumping up and down.

“Almost did a triple, too. It’ll happen, trust me,” Phichit promised.

“Whoa,” Lutz said.

“Can you show us tonight?” Axel begged.

Yuuko laughed and shrugged at Phichit, “They’re obsessed with skating. I hope they’re not bothering you.”

Phichit waved a hand. “Not at all. It’s nice to have fans.” He winked at the girls and they giggled.

“Just stopping by for treats?” Yuuri inquired, sacking up the cookies in individual bags for the girls.

“I’m meeting Minako here. She’s picking up the girls so I don’t have to take them all the way down to the studio. Takeshi is watching the desk and I’m teaching a beginner class at 12:30.”

“Ah, I see,” Yuuri nodded.

Minako. He still felt like she knew something more about Viktor than she was letting on. Maybe when she came in today, he’d have the opportunity to ask her.

“Do you mind watching the girls until Minako shows up? She just texted me she’s on her way. I need to get back in case I’ve got early arrivals,” Yuuko asked.

“Sure, no problem, Yuuko.”

“Thank you, Yuuri.” She knelt down in front of the triplets. “You be good for Yuuri and Miss Minako today, alright?”

“Yes, Mom,” they replied in unison.

Yuuko left with a wave and the girls descended upon the cookies Yuuri held out to each of them in turn. He admonished them not to get crumbs all over his clean floor and they slowed their ferocious chewing until they were eating primly and carefully. Phichit chatted with them about their ballet classes while Yuuri thought about what he wanted to say to Minako when she arrived. Last time they’d talked about Viktor, she’d told Yuuri to forget him. But the way she’d said it still bothered him. Almost as if she’d put real force behind her words when most of the things she said were plucky and nonchalant. She’d been serious. It was not like her.

When she showed up ten minutes later, Yuuri still didn’t know how to broach the subject of Viktor with her.

“Hi, everyone!” she beamed, striking an arabesque that made the girls titter with delight.

Without Viktor there to cause unusual reactions, Minako seemed like she was back to her normal self. Yuuri tried to smile at her, but he was too focused on raising enough courage to confront her about the Russian.

“Minako,” he went for it. “Do you have a second? Phichit can you watch the front?”

“Sure, Yuuri,” Phichit said, moving back behind the counter.

Minako smiled at Yuuri and followed him back into the kitchen. He leaned against the metal island and ran a hand through his hair, adjusting his glasses after.

“What’s up?” she asked, her voice still bright and unconcerned.

“Look, I know you told me to forget him, but Viktor is staying at my parents’ inn and I want to know what you know about him.”

He finally looked up and that same strange, unfamiliar seriousness rested on her face. What was it about Viktor that brought out this side of her?

“Yuuri, Viktor’s just a stranger. I don’t know him. We bumped into each other the other night, that’s all. I didn’t even know his name until you just told me.”

He sighed. He should have known she wouldn’t tell him. “You promise there’s nothing you’re keeping from me?”

Minako grinned prettily and cocked her head to the side. “What would I keep from you, Yuuri?”

An explosion of laughter from the front of the bakery cut him off before he could reply. Minako looked over her shoulder to the hallway leading back to Phichit and the girls. “I really should get going. I need to get to class on time.”

“Okay,” he said, not satisfied with the way their conversation had gone.

Yuuri watched them leave with a roiling storm of confusion in his gut. There was something so odd about the way Minako had reacted to Viktor and he had reacted to her. Then there was the problem of his wounds. Yuuri didn’t know why, but he felt sure Minako knew what had happened to Viktor. It sounded outrageous even to himself, but...was it true?

The rest of the day drifted by and he and Phichit closed up the bakery at seven without much fanfare. Yuuri watched his friend hop on his bicycle and pedal off down the street, then wandered back inside and up to his apartment. He put on athletic clothes for his nightly run and sat down with a cup of chamomile tea before he left. He couldn’t get Viktor out of his mind no matter how hard he tried.

“Stop it, Yuuri,” he whispered to himself. “Just let it go…”

His phone buzzed on the surface of the table.

Reflexively, he picked it up with a glazed expression that melted into absolute attention when he saw the newly arrived text message.

>> _ Mom’s asking if you can come and translate again. _

Yuuri paused. Going back to the resort meant he might see Viktor again. He needed to get his run in anyway. To sound noncommittal, though, he typed out a question.

<<Can’t you do it?

>> _ I’m off tonight. Please? _

<<Fine.

The cheap clock on his wall read 8:05pm. He wondered what his mother needed as he grabbed his wallet and keys off the table. The run to Yu-Topia Katsuki had him panting for breath by the time he reached the gate. He didn’t ponder his reasons for running faster than usual. He found his mother in the common room by the same table Viktor and Yuri had occupied the night before. The Russians sat there with identical looks of polite confusion on their faces.

“I’m here, mom,” Yuuri said to her in Japanese, drawing in a heaving breath.

Viktor’s blue eyes immediately found his and Yuuri flushed at the undisguised happiness he saw in that handsome face. Yuri ignored him in favor of sipping from a mug of green tea.

“Ah, Yuuri,” Hiroko turned to him with furrowed brows despite the grin on her lips. “Er...I haven’t been able to get them to eat a thing since they got here.”

This was why she needed a translator? Yuuri sighed. “Maybe they’re eating elsewhere, Mom.”

“Maybe, but...their food is included in the room fee. I hate to see them go hungry, poor dears. Can you ask them if they’d like for us to send food to their room at a different time than the normal hours?”

“Sure.”

Yuuri stepped around his mom and gave Viktor what he hoped was an encouraging expression. “My mom wants to know if you’d like your food brought to your room at a time that’s more convenient for you and Yuri.”

Viktor’s lips formed a surprised “oh”, but he shook his head demurely. “Tell her thank you, but that won’t be necessary.”

The “why not?” was on his lips, but Yuuri stopped himself. It was none of his business. It did miff him a bit that Viktor and Yuri were uninterested in his mother’s cooking, but he shoved the emotions down. Yuuri translated Viktor’s reply to his mother and she merely sighed.

“Alright, dear. Thanks for coming. I expected you to have more to do, but if they’re sure, then I guess there’s no more to be said about it.” She gave all three of them a smile before heading back to the kitchen.

Yuuri turned back to Viktor and felt his muscles tense at the dreamy look on the man’s face. He had the look of a person entirely content with the world and happy to stare at one thing for all the rest of his life. Yuuri cleared his throat and looked at the floor. “Is there anything else I can get for you two?”

“Go out on a date with me, Yuuri,” Viktor said without preamble.

Yuri spat out his tea and coughed. “A date? With the piggy? What the hell?”

Yuuri’s glasses slipped down the bridge of his nose and his heart felt like it might beat right out of his chest. A date. A  _ date? _ Surely he hadn’t heard correctly. Where had that come from?

“You h-hardly know me,” he stuttered out before pushing his glasses back up.

“I’d like to,” Viktor said warmly.

Before he realized what he had done, the back of Yuuri’s knees hit the next table over and he nearly fell before righting himself ungracefully. “I’m sorry. I can’t.”

Viktor’s smile didn’t disappear, but his eyebrows drew together. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Yuri snorted. “Shot down, old man.”

Yuuri fled from the room, pulse shooting through his veins at an alarming rate. His breath wasn’t coming in quick enough for his lungs and he felt every nerve firing with awareness. A date. Victor had asked him out on a date! And he’d said no...Yuuri groaned as he started running the second he was out the resort’s front door. Why had Viktor even asked in the first place? He reared his head back and stared up at the sky for a few breaths before moving his gaze back to the sidewalk.

“I’m an idiot,” Yuuri whimpered, as he pumped his arms and legs and ran from his problems all the way back to the bakery.

***

“I can’t believe you asked that guy out on a date,” Yuri scowled. “You’ve known him what all of five minutes?”

Viktor didn’t know what had made him say it. Yuuri just looked so cute in his running pants and fitted athletic jacket. Viktor wanted to thank Yuuri properly for helping him the other night. Why  _ not  _ a date? “I told you last night when he came to the inn that he helped me out the other night when I was--”

Yuri raised a hand to silence him, “Yeah, I know all that. It was a figure of speech, dumbass.”

He didn’t even react to Yuri’s caustic tone. He just contemplated the exact shade of Yuuri’s blush and the absent way he pushed his blue-framed glasses up his nose. How had he missed, that first night, just how adorable the little baker was? Being slashed to pieces and covered in blood, notwithstanding… Yuuri’s refusal to go out on a date with him stung. Viktor wasn’t used to rejection, but he wouldn’t give up. If he and Yuri were going to be in Hasetsu for a while, Viktor had time to cultivate a fling. He’d just try again. With flowers.

When he next spoke, Yuri had already moved on from the subject of Viktor’s affections. “I get to pick the prey tonight. You always pick crimes against nature.”

“Fine. Just find someone who’ll have enough blood for the both of us.”

“Whatever.”

They wandered around the nighttime streets, weaving between locals and few other foreigners. Viktor wondered whom Yuri would choose for their meal. Viktor usually picked because his companion was often too critical of the offerings to end up actually committing to something. They wound closer and closer to the docks where warehouses and deserted alleyways dotted the cityscape. If he’d been human and prone to fear, Viktor would have shuddered at the desolate locale.

“Yura, I can smell like four people around here. Pick someone so we can get this over with.” Viktor pinched the bridge of his nose, just positive that Yuri would wind up finding some seedy, wretched human down on their luck with blood like vinegar in an area like this.

“ _ Him. _ ” Yuri pointed to a man leaning against a street light pole yards away.

He hadn’t spotted them yet, so Viktor took a moment to observe the human. He was on the short side, but taller than Yuri was. His lithe form was wrapped in a leather jacket and black jeans, feet encased in steel-toed boots. Long fingers supported a smoking cigarette currently placed between his lips. Dark hair was fashionably styled in an undercut.

Victor’s eyes cut to Yuri beside him and he chuckled at the fascinated expression he saw on the youthful face. Good lord. And Yuri gave  _ Viktor  _ hell about being smitten. “Him?”

Yuri nodded.

Sighing, Viktor gathered his energy and flung his body forward with lightning speed. He had his hands around the man’s throat and mouth before the human could struggle or comprehend what had happened to him. Viktor continued the assault until he’d forced their prey into a shady alley and back against the side of a cargo container. The cigarette fell from pale lips to land on the asphalt. By the time Yuri joined him, Viktor was already whispering hypnotic words to their victim.

“Let me try it this time,” Yuri said.

“You’re too young,” Viktor replied. “It won’t take.”

“Ugh,  _ fine _ .”

Viktor continued with his cadence and purple light meandered through the air from his mouth and into the man’s frightened eyes. Once the deep brown irises had become entirely colored with the hypnosis, Viktor removed his hands.

“You first. Be quick. This place gives me the creeps,” Viktor said, flipping up his collar and glancing left and right.

Yuri approached the victim with something like awe. He demurely lifted his body onto his tip-toes and proceeded to gently nudge aside the leather collar. When he bit, Viktor could hear it, along with the slow sucking noise of blood exiting the human’s body. It was almost like a lover’s bite and Viktor tried hard not to laugh at Yuri’s obvious fascination with the creature.

Viktor was examining a loose string on his coat when a deep voice asked, “Are you finished?”

Yuri stopped, frozen in place against the man’s chest.

Viktor savagely ripped Yuri away from the human and growled, lowering his stance until he felt grounded and centered for a fight. The man straightened, blood running down the muscular cords of his neck and into the white shirt he wore beneath his leather jacket. His eyes were dark brown already, all traces of hypnosis gone. Viktor was  _ extremely  _ proficient at enthralling humans. There was only one reason his hypnotism wouldn’t have worked.

“We wouldn’t have killed you…” Viktor insisted, raising both hands in a gesture of peace. “We don’t want any trouble.”

“Really now?” the man said, raising a hand up to his neck and inspecting the bloodied fingers he pulled away.

“That’s not our way,” Viktor insisted.

“It sure seemed like that a minute ago.”

Yuri hissed and shoved Viktor out of his way. “We were just thirsty, alright? I would have stopped before you died. I don’t kill people. It isn’t my style.”

A smirk gathered on the man’s lips. He said, “We’ll see.”

With a dizzying swiftness, the man’s legs spread into a wide stance and his hands came up, fingers curling and twisting into a complex gesture. Arcane, ancient words coiled through the air until a mandala of light formed in the air between them.

Viktor’s eyes widened and he tried to shield Yuri--to take the magic into his own body, but it was too late. The mandala winked out and the man lowered his hands. Viktor looked up to see a brand burned into the pale flesh of Yuri’s neck. A tracking sigil.

“Damn,” he whispered.

“What? What’s there?” Yuri tried to follow Viktor’s gaze with his own eyes, but the location of the mark made it impossible for him to see. He could feel the pain, though, and clamped a hand over the spot. “Oi! What the hell?!”

“Prove me wrong,” was all the man said before zipping up his jacket and striding away into the black night.

Viktor and Yuri stood there, watching his body grow smaller in the distance.

“What did he do to me?” Yuri demanded.

“He’s branded you with a tracking sigil. We’re grounded for now,” Viktor sighed, running a hand through his silver hair. This complicated things.

“A hunter…” Yuri groaned.

“Yes.”

“Can’t we get it off?” Yuri pleaded, eyes uncharacteristically panicky.

“Not unless the hunter removes it himself or dies.” Viktor ran his finger over the inflamed flesh and recoiled at the way the skin there had grown raised and tight with the mark’s texture.

“Stop that!” Yuri smacked the hand away. “It hurts.”

“I’m sorry.” Angry tears pricked at the corner of Yuri’s glass-green eyes and Viktor’s heart clenched. “Hey, come here.”

Before Yuri could protest, Viktor pulled him into a tight hug and smoothed the back of his hair.

“Let me go,” Yuri growled.

“Not yet,” Viktor said with a smile.

It wasn’t enough, but he could at least do this much for Yuri. Viktor closed his eyes and let a bit of his calming energy seep into the tense body in his arms. After a few moments, the trembling stopped and Viktor no longer felt tension in the delicate limbs. Looking down, he saw Yuri staring at him in wonder.

“Better?”

Yuri pushed him away and flushed. “Yeah.”

“Good.”

Yuri gripped his right elbow with the opposite hand and stared off to the side. “What do we do now?”

Viktor glanced in the direction the hunter had disappeared. “We wait and see how this plays out.”

“I hate waiting.”

The wind whistled when it funneled into the alley where they stood. Viktor shoved his hands into his pockets. Thirst clawed its way up his throat and he knew he’d have to find a victim before they went back to the inn or he’d be in too bad a state to see Yuuri tomorrow at the bakery. Furrowing his brows and resigning himself to the next stage of the night, Viktor murmured, “So do I.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy day, all! I hope you enjoy this latest chapter. I'll try to have the next one out soon! :D <3

Yuuri threw the dough onto the wooden board with enough force that Phichit looked up from across the room. He punched into the spongy, cool mass with more conviction than he usually put into kneading, manipulating and forcing the yielding ball into shape.

“Buuuddy? Got something on your mind?” Phichit finished putting the tray of croissants into the oven and walked over to the island where Yuuri stood.

Yuuri pushed his glasses up his nose with the back of his wrist and frowned. “Viktor asked me out on a date last night.”

Phichit blinked at him for several seconds, before his face morphed into one of sheer joy and amusement. “What did you say?!”

“No.”

“You said no...have you  _ seen _ that guy? Why would you say no?!”

Yuuri turned the dough and reshaped it before taking up the kneading again. “He’s...I don’t know. There’s something strange about him.”

Phichit leaned against the island’s metal counter. “Strange how? Strange mysterious or strange creepy?”

Yuuri considered this for a moment, then, “Both.”

Phichit rolled his eyes and exhaled audibly. “You’re impossible. Only Katsuki Yuuri would go around throwing away perfectly good offers of dates with incredibly sexy men because they seem a little different.”

“Different would be one thing. Strange is another,” Yuuri reminded him.

Phichit jabbed a finger into his chest. “I think you’re just scared.”

Yuuri flattened the dough with his hands before balling it up again and jamming his knuckles into the soft surface. “I’m not scared. Just cautious.”

“You keep telling yourself that, pal.”

They finished with the morning prep work and opened the bakery. Yuuri’s head nearly fell off when the first customer of the day was a smiling Viktor hidden behind a bouquet of two dozen red roses.

“Viktor!” Yuuri gaped at the flowers.

“Good morning, Yuuri! Good morning, Yuuri’s friend!”

Viktor lowered the roses enough for his eyes to appear. He looked so genuinely happy and earnest that Yuuri couldn’t help but feel a little weak in the knees at his approach.

“These are for you,” Viktor announced, offering his scarlet bouquet to Yuuri with a flourish.

Yuuri gaped. “Why’d you...I mean…” Phichit jabbed him viciously in the side with his index finger. “Th-thank you, Viktor. They’re beautiful.”

“Not nearly as beautiful as you,” Viktor said softly.

And he meant it. Yuuri could tell by the kind expression and almost shy curve to his bow-shaped lips. The flush came unbidden and Yuuri busied himself with touching the satin petals of the roses. “Phichit, can you grab a vase from the back and put these in water for me?”

“Sure, boss.”

Phichit gently lifted the bouquet from Yuuri’s arms and disappeared down the hallway. Yuuri clasped his hands together, fidgeting with his thumbs. He peeked up at Viktor who still looked at him with such intense interest that he had to bounce his eyes away.

“I said no and you still brought me flowers?” Yuuri asked, voice a bit shaky.

“I caught you off guard last night. I didn’t do things properly. Today, I’m trying again,” Viktor said. He straightened up to his full height and rested the palms of his hands on the counter between them.

Yuuri couldn’t help the anticipation in his chest as he wondered what Viktor would say next. Before he could find out, though, Phichit returned with a clear vase stuffed with the roses. He placed them on top of the counter where every customer would see. Yuuri wondered if he could just pass them off as an early Valentine’s decoration.

“Yuuri,” Viktor began when Phichit stepped off to the side. “Do you have lunch plans?”

“I’m actually working through lunch today.”

Viktor wasn’t deterred. “Maybe a meal would be too much pressure anyway, what about drinks later? Once you’re off work?”

Yuuri opened his mouth to refuse again, but Phichit stomped mercilessly on his foot and he squeaked out, “Yes, alright.”

_ Yes? _

A lump formed in his throat and Yuuri tried to force it down. The pit of butterflies he’d come to associate with Viktor was working into a frenzy in his gut.

On the other side of the counter, Viktor smiled, radiant. “I’ll pick you up at eight?” His charm could knock someone out.

“Er, yes. That’s fine. Just ring around back and I’ll come down. The front is locked up by then.” Yuuri adjusted his glasses and tried to grin, but his face seemed to have frozen in a perpetual panic.

Viktor didn’t seem to mind. He simply placed a hand over Yuuri’s on the counter. A gasp almost escaped Yuuri’s lips at how cold his suitor felt, but he clamped it down just in time, reveling in being touched. A glance up had him meeting those shocking blue eyes and Yuuri knew he was lost forever.

With a squeeze of his hand and a fetching wink, Viktor withdrew and turned for the door. “I’ll see you tonight, Yuuri.”

“See you...tonight,” Yuuri said, dazed, his hand tingling from the contact. Viktor had already passed beneath the door, sending the bells chiming, before Yuuri remembered to say, “Thank you again for the flowers—”

But apparently, Viktor heard, for he saluted two fingers outward from his lips in a kiss as he strolled down the sidewalk and eventually out of sight.

Yuuri just stood there for a few seconds, not really sure how he felt or how to react. Luckily Phichit was there to force him out of his stupor. Beside him, his friend was bouncing up and down, buzzing with excitement.

“ _ Yuuri... _ do you realize you’re going out on a date with like  _ the  _ handsomest guy in the world?”

“Believe me, I’m aware,” Yuuri said softly. A thought occurred to him and he looked down at himself and the dull work clothes he had on. “What on earth do you wear when you go out for drinks with someone?”

A laugh bubbled from Phichit’s lips and he gave Yuuri a pat on the back as he said, “I’ll take care of it. We’ll go through your closet after we close. I’ll make you a star!” To add emphasis, he swept his hand in a rainbow-shaped arc before their eyes as he gazed into the distance.

“I don’t need to be a star. I would settle for being presentable,” Yuuri grumbled, flicking flour off his cheek.

Phichit suddenly stood back, a trickle of concern bleeding into his features. “Hey, are you really anxious about this? Aren’t you excited at all?”

Yuuri clenched his apron between his hands. “I  _ want  _ to be excited, it’s just...this is my first date in years, Phichit. I don’t want to screw it up.”

Dark eyes softened and Phichit said, “You won’t, Yuuri. You’re amazing. It’s a shame you’re the last person to figure that out.”

Yuuri let go of the apron and looked to Phichit. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Now perk up because you’ve got three little old ladies coming in to get their morning pastries,” Phichit slapped his back and shoved him out of the way so he could take the counter. “In fact, go splash your face with water or something. I can handle things down here long enough for you to take a break.”

Outside the front windows, three wizened regulars stood chatting happily and Yuuri smiled. He hoped they enjoyed the confections they picked out from the display cases. After giving Phichit a grateful nod, he disappeared up the stairs into his apartment for the ordered break. Deciding tea would calm him down the quickest, he put on the electric kettle and sat in one of his kitchen chairs to wait for it to boil. While he waited, he pondered what on earth Viktor could see in him.

Yuuri was a nobody, really. The only interesting thing about him was that he ran a bakery and was the youngest local business owner in Hasestu. And  _ those  _ facts were relatively boring. In college, he’d studied business as he’d hoped even then to open the bakery soon after graduating. He didn’t have time for hobbies other than reading, running, and dance… What on earth would they talk about at this date?

_ What happened that night…? _

He bit his lip. That topic would be sure to turn the mood somber. Whatever had happened to Viktor had been excruciatingly painful. But would Yuuri be able to help himself?

Eventually, after a tranquil cup of chamomile tea, Yuuri returned to the bakery. Yuuko arrived around noon and helped out throughout the afternoon shift. Yuuri was practically sweating from his nerves by that point and didn’t want her to find out about the date, but Phichit couldn’t keep his big mouth shut. Well, it wasn’t  _ all  _  Phichit. The flowers were obviously conspicuous.

“Yuuri, are you alright today? You look flushed and clammy,” Yuuko exclaimed, putting her fists on her hip.

He paled. “I-I’m fine, Yuuko. Really. Just a bit tired.”

Phichit rolled his eyes. “He has a _ date  _ tonight, Yuuko.”

Yuuko’s eyes lit up like fireworks. “What?! Seriously? Yuuri, that’s great! Who’s the lucky guy or gal? I knew those flowers just weren’t for decoration!”

If looks could kill, Yuuri would have murdered Phichit with his eyes alone. He turned to Yuuko and tried to put on a brave face. “His name is Viktor. We’ve run into each other a couple of times here and at the inn, and he returned this morning to ask me out.”

_ Well, he asked me out once before and I said no… _ Yuuri shook his head to clear his thoughts and prepared himself for the onslaught of Yuuko’s questions.

“Aww, Yuuri, that’s really great. Viktor, huh? That’s a foreign name. Where’s he from?” She rested her hip against one of the glass cases and crossed her arms, an eager and warm smile spreading.

“Russia, I think, but we haven’t talked about it yet,” Yuuri admitted.

“Oooo, Russia. Such a pretty accent!”

Phichit snorted, “That’s not the only thing pretty about him.”

Yuuko swatted his arm.

Yuuri blushed and tried to busy himself with straightening and tightening the red ribbons he’d tied around bags of cookies.

Yuuko gave him an appraising look that he saw out of the corner of his eye. “Don’t be nervous, Yuuri. Go and have fun. That’s all a date is supposed to be.  _ Fun.  _ Don’t worry yourself sick over messing up or saying the wrong thing. I know you.”

Yuuri would have bristled at the words, but Yuuko said them with such love in her tone that he couldn’t help but relax under the admonition. “Thanks, Yuuko’chan.”

The rest of the day passed in a blur of activity. Locals and tourists stopped by the bakery steadily throughout the afternoon and early evening. By seven o’clock, most of the cases were nearing empty. A good sign. Yuuri would have his work cut out for him prepping tomorrow. A hard day’s work had mellowed him out a bit, taking his mind off of the night to come. But as soon as Phichit turned the “CLOSED” sign over the door, things took off.

“You. Upstairs. Now.” Phichit circled and flicked his finger in the direction of the stairwell leading up to Yuuri’s apartment.

Yuuri resigned himself to the ordeal.

Upstairs, Phichit took out almost every single item of clothing in Yuuri’s closet and stood with a hand to his mouth, biting his nails as he scrutinized the display. Yuuri stood off to the side tapping his foot and trying not to rush him. Every few seconds, his eyes would flash to the clock on his nightstand and see a few more minutes tick by. Finally, Phichit darted to the pile of clothes on the bed and swiftly paired together a pair of dark gray jeans, a striped cream sweater, and a black blazer.

“This.”

“You sure? I won’t look...too ordinary?” Yuuri glanced at the drab colors.

“I know you. If I picked something flashy—which you don’t even own—you wouldn’t wear it or you’d feel subconscious the whole time. I chose comfortable, but classy. Even you can’t disapprove,” Phichit said, handing over the clothes.

“That’s surprisingly thoughtful, Phichit.”

Phichit gave him a smirk. “Of course I’m thoughtful.”

Yuuri dressed, brushed his teeth, tried to make his hair do something interesting, and stared at himself in the bathroom mirror for far too long. What he saw didn’t inspire much confidence, but he had to admit he looked put together. Put together was better than nothing. He had just walked into the front room of his apartment when the buzzer down at the back door to the kitchen sounded.

Yuuri locked eyes with Phichit. “I don’t think I can do this.”

“Oh no you don’t,” Phichit said, grabbing Yuuri’s phone and keys from the kitchen table and forcing them into his friend’s hands. “You’re getting your cute butt out there and going on that date. Now go. Shoo!”

Yuuri sighed and scrambled down the stairs, “Lock up for me, Phichit?”

“Of course!”

At the back kitchen door, Yuuri felt an annoying, sinking feeling in his chest, accompanied by a rapid heart rate. He closed his eyes and breathed.  _ I can do this. _

Exhaling, he opened the door.

***

Viktor’s lips parted when Yuuri opened the door. Bright lights created a halo on dark hair and fell softly on the blazer that Yuuri wore. He looked adorable in his “going out” attire. The neutral tones were a quiet comfort that brushed soothingly against Viktor’s nerves.

_ What if I lose control? _

That thought kept pounding through his brain as Yuuri flushed and the scent of his blood wafted to Viktor’s nose. Thankfully, Viktor had taken precautions and hunted an hour before their meeting. That way, Yuuri’s tempting veins wouldn’t overwhelm him. Realizing he was staring, Viktor smiled and cocked his head.

“You look very handsome, Yuuri,” he said.

Yuuri’s flush deepened. “Thank you. So do you.”

Viktor extended an arm. “Shall we?”

The baker reached inside for a coat, then came out as he tugged it on. After he closed the door, he stared at the proffered arm. A few seconds passed, in which Yuuri’s brows furrowed. Finally, he slipped his hand in the crook of Viktor’s elbow and they started walking. Viktor sighed happily. He hadn’t had a gentleman on his arm in decades and it felt good.  _ Too good. _

In his mouth, his canines burned with the need to elongate and feed. Viktor cleared his throat and clenched his jaw, willing them to stay short and human-like. Beside him, he could feel Yuuri’s buzzing, nervous energy. It was adorable.

“Nervous?” Viktor asked playfully.

“What?” Yuuri glanced up, his glasses falling a half inch down his nose. “No, not nervous…”

Viktor could feel the heartbeat swimming through Yuuri’s skin where he gripped Viktor’s arm and the way his breathing was slightly erratic. “You don’t have to lie. I can tell you’re a bit anxious.”

Surprisingly, drawing attention to Yuuri’s anxiety seemed to pull him out of it a bit. “I’m sorry. I just haven’t been on a date in a while and you’re—”

Yuuri stoppered his words and that flush on his cheeks turned perfectly scarlet. Viktor smiled to himself. Oh, he knew he was handsome. It wasn’t unusual for him to have such an effect on the objects of his affections. Still, it felt new and exciting with Yuuri. He wanted to find out everything about this human baker.

_ Even though this is a bad idea and will only end in bloodshed. _

The thought wormed its way through his mind and Viktor mentally cursed his bloodlust. His mouth fully hurt now. How was it possible when he’d already fed this evening? He was feeling just like he’d felt as a newborn centuries ago!

“I’m what?” Viktor asked, trying to distract himself by glancing to the illuminated castle on the hill cresting the city.

Yuuri’s voice was barely a whisper, “You’re beautiful and strange and...I don’t know. I’ll shut up now.”

“Oh no, do go on,” Viktor said, turning so that he was walking backward and tugging both of Yuuri’s wrists.

With an affable eye roll, Yuuri freed one hand and pushed his glasses up. “You’re teasing.”

“I am.”

Yuuri smiled then—a true smile—and Viktor’s insides eased; his fangs calmed.

The screech of a bike bell rang out and a little old man flew past them, feet whirling with the pedals. On instinct, Viktor pulled Yuuri into his chest, out of the way. It brought their bodies into full contact and for just a moment, Viktor could  _ feel  _ Yuuri’s heat as though it were his own in the midst of the frigid winter air.

It was…

_ Back away. Now. _

He could see Yuuri’s exposed neck, eyes zeroing in on the blue veins thrumming beneath skin…

“Er...Viktor,” Yuuri said, hands splayed across Viktor’s chest. “I think that guy’s gone.”

The spell broke and Viktor stepped back, giving Yuuri space. He shook his head and forced a shaky smile. “Yes, well..hmm.” He was at a loss for words.

“Where are we going exactly?” Yuuri asked, rubbing his hands together and blowing warm air into the hollow they made.

Viktor suddenly,  _ very  _ intensely wanted to hold one of Yuuri’s hands. Skin to skin.

But he kept the distance and shoved his gloved hands into his pockets. “We’re going to a little bar I discovered this afternoon. It’s called  _ Hana.  _ Or at least that’s what one of the locals walking nearby told me. He could speak a bit of English, thankfully. I confess my Japanese is rubbish.”

Yuuri laughed lightly. “You’re English is quite good. Did you learn it in school?”

“I had a private tutor,” he said.

Yuuri made an “oh” with his mouth and went silent for a moment. Then, “Where are you from?”

Viktor smiled, thinking of his homeland. “Russia. Around St. Petersburg.”

Well, he had been around since  _ before  _ St. Petersburg, but Yuuri didn’t need to know just how old he was. Whenever a human asked, he went with the age he was turned. Twenty-eight. Not that Yuuri was asking his age. Viktor tried to focus on the here and now, but his mind kept drifting to the intoxicating scent of Yuuri’s blood and the worry he felt over restraining his instincts.

They entered the area of town stuffed with izakaya and family restaurants.  _ Hana  _ was down a side street near the base of the castle. Viktor led the way, though he felt sure Yuuri knew where he was and could have led them himself judging by the fondness in the baker’s eyes as he took in their path.

“How long have you lived here?” Viktor asked him.

“I was born in Hasetsu. My parents inherited Yu-topia Katsuki from their parents and I’m sure someday, Mari’s family will take over.”

“Not you?” Viktor arched a brow.

“I’ve got the bakery,” Yuuri said decisively.

_ Hana’s  _ neon sign lit up the night just ahead and when they made it to the entrance, Viktor opened the door, waving Yuuri through into the warm interior.

“Thanks,” Yuuri said with a smile.

He seemed more comfortable now, though Viktor couldn’t say what had changed. If anything, Viktor had become the anxious one. As Yuuri passed directly in front of him to squeeze through the tiny doorway, Viktor inhaled another lungful of the scent of Yuuri’s blood and it was pure agony.

_ This was a mistake. _

Why did he think he could date a human and keep said human safe?

Yuuri removed his coat and hung it on a peg in the entrance hall. Viktor did the same with his own, then followed his companion to the narrow bar where only one other patron sat. It was dark inside the small establishment with only a few well shaded lamps for illumination. It was warm and comfortable and Viktor relished the relative safety of being the only vampire in the area at the moment. He kept his ears and nose alert just in case any of the Coryphee’s goons came into his space, though. Yuuri didn’t seem to notice his vigil.

The bartender came over and spoke to Yuuri in lilting Japanese.

“He wants to know what you’d like,” Yuuri told Viktor.

“I’ll have a scotch, neat.”

Yuuri translated and continued speaking for several moments after.

The bartender gave a nod and pulled out one highball glass and a lowball glass for their drinks.

“What did you order?” Viktor asked.

“Gin and tonic.” Yuuri rested his elbows on the bar and clasped his hands in front of himself.

Viktor eyed the long fingers and fine bones running beneath the skin. Everything about Yuuri was fine. From his pale complexion to the warm, earthy eyes to his hair—slicked back tonight in a way that had Viktors body warming to the thought of running his hands through it enough to mess it up.

They said nothing as the bartender mixed Yuuri’s drink and poured Viktor’s scotch. When he placed the glasses in front of them, they reached out at the same time, fingers colliding.

Yuuri flushed again and made to pull away, but Viktor twined two of his fingers with Yuuri’s—just a brief slide of skin before clasping his glass and raising it to his lips. The scotch bloomed over his tongue, evaporating into his mouth as he swallowed. The mild burn eased his thirst and brought a pleasant weight to his words.

“Thank you for saying yes, Yuuri.”

Yuuri glanced away, then up through his eyelashes. “Thank you for asking.”

They sat in silence for several moments, sipping their drinks in peace. Viktor let his knee fall slightly to the right so that it would brush against Yuuri’s left thigh. A gasp fluttered over the air and Yuuri sat up ramrod straight, his leg moving out of Viktor’s range.

Viktor propped an elbow on the bar and rested his temple against his knuckles. “Yuuri...why so skittish?”

Yuuri closed his eyes and exhaled a jittery breath. “We already established I’m nervous.”

“Fully admitting it now?” Viktor took another sip of his scotch.

“I guess so.”

Viktor moved his knee back to his own space.

More silence. He frowned. He hadn’t accounted for Yuuri being so nervous. All of Viktor’s usual date-behaviors were just going to make Yuuri more self-conscious and make him more thirsty. He had to switch tactics. Had to put the human at ease. Just as he opened his mouth to ask about the bakery and how Yuuri got it started, his companion spoke up.

“Look…I know this isn’t the right time…but,” Yuuri wasn’t looking at him. He stared vaguely at the bar and gripped his drink like a lifeline, “what really happened to you that night?”

Viktor swirled the amber liquid in his own glass and decided on a bit of truth. “I got into a fight.”

“With an alley cat?” Yuuri shot him a dry look over the blue rims of his glasses.

After another swallow of the scotch; Viktor chuckled, “A…gang of sorts.”

Yuuri shifted in his seat, turning to face him fully now. Their knees almost touched. “Oh my god, were those knife wounds?”

“More like steel-claws,” Viktor conceded, deciding it wasn’t a complete lie. The claw-part fit.

Yuuri went quiet a moment and appeared to be thinking. Then, “I didn’t think we had any crime activity like that here.”

“Small towns will surprise you,” Viktor said, draining the scotch. He set the glass down on the table and raised a finger to the bartender. The man nodded and started on another glass for Viktor.

“Why did you come into the bakery? Why wouldn’t you let me call for an ambulance?”

Viktor sighed, almost lamenting that Yuuri had such a curious mind. “Your bakery was close to the site of the attack and I needed to get away from those guys. As for the ambulance…I’d rather not talk about it.”

Yuuri, apparently sensing the conversation wasn’t going to go any further, grew quiet again and turned back to face the bar. “Alright. I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable asking about all of that.”

It was rare for Viktor to get a feeling that he wanted to reveal the truth about himself, but seeing Yuuri so dejected as he sat there was almost enough to have him spilling his secret. He didn’t. Simply picked up the second scotch and took another sip. 

“Why did you ask me out on a date?” Yuuri said so softly, even Viktor could barely hear it with his sensitive ears. 

Viktor dipped his head, trying to catch Yuuri’s line of sight, but the baker was staring at his glass intently. “You saved me when I was in need, Yuuri.”

“Anyone would have done the same,” Yuuri pointed out. 

Viktor reached out and slipped a finger beneath Yuuri’s chin, turning his head so that they could make eye contact. “Not just anyone.”

That pretty blush stained Yuuri’s cheeks as he said, voice quivering slightly. “Is that the only reason?”

Viktor’s thumb rubbed softly across Yuuri’s chin as he said, “No. You’re also extremely cute.”

Yuuri’s flush spread to his ears.

Viktor laughed. “It’s true, Yuuri.”

A soft smile spread across the human’s lips and Viktor released his chin, reluctantly. For just a few moments, VIktor had forgotten they were dangerously different. Had forgotten that with just a single bite in the right place, he could drain Yuuri of all the vibrant life he possessed. But that blush and the way Yuuri’s heart sped up in the last few seconds had Viktor almost clutching his chest in thirst. 

“Are you finished with your drink?” he asked, voice sounding more hoarse than he would like. 

Yuuri glanced down. “Oh. Yes.” 

Viktor paid for their drinks and they left the bar. 

If Viktor walked a little too quickly back towards the bakery, Yuuri didn’t seem to notice. He kept pace and that little smile he’d displayed earlier was firmly fixed. Viktor would have to hunt again.  _ Tonight _ . How had his thirst manifested itself again so soon tonight? Was it simply…

_ Desire.  _

Viktor stopped walking a moment, the realization dawning on him like a lightning strike. 

Yakov had told him once in his youth that lust for a human would ignite a vampire’s thirst a hundred fold and that getting entangled with one would be his ruin. He always was the sort to forget important details like that—

“Viktor? Are you alright?” Yuuri asked, stopping with him. 

He turned to his companion and forced a smile, which was difficult considering his fangs were elongating. He couldn’t help but stare at Yuuri’s lovely face and the slope of his neck as it led from his jawline to his covered shoulder. 

_ Desire… _

Viktor closed his eyes and inhaled the heady scent of Yuuri’s blood. 

_ Am I lost already, then?  _ Viktor mused. 

“I’m fine, Yuuri,” he said aloud. “Just enjoying being with you.”

_ Too much.  _

He started walking again, making sure not to touch the human and they walked back to the bakery. 

Thankfully, the walk was short and soon, they were at Yuuri’s back door. Viktor ached to see him go—to be so distant now—but he had to hunt. As soon as possible. Yuuri paused at his door and fiddled with a set of jingling keys. Once he had the right one, he turned and gave Viktor another charming smile. 

“Thank you for tonight, Viktor. I had a nice time.”

The vampire smiled and tried desperately not to look too closely at Yuuri’s form. “I did as well.”

“If it’s alright...could we...do this again sometime?” Yuuri asked. 

_ No, no, no… _

“Of course, Yuuri. I would love that.”

Yuuri looked at his hands, turning his keys. “Tomorrow?”

VIktor couldn’t help himself. “Tomorrow would be lovely.”

“I could show you around Hasetsu—all the local areas that tourists wouldn’t necessarily think to go to, if you like.”

Viktor’s head swam and he almost leaned forward into Yuuri as he said. “Perfect. Same time? Tomorrow night?”

Yuuri nodded. “Mm.”

“I’ll see you then,” Viktor said, standing upright by sheer force of will. 

Yuuri turned, unlocked his door and stepped one foot inside. Then, “Goodnight, Viktor.”

“Goodnight, Yuuri.”

The door closed and Viktor shot through the streets and into the first occupied, dark alley he could find. He wasn’t careful. He wasn’t meticulous. He didn’t care who the warm body belonged to, so long as he could feed. The woman--a waitress by the look of her apron and the rest of her attire--gasped when Viktor grabbed her, sinking his fangs into her neck above a threadbare scarf. The delicious flow bathed his mouth, placating the hunger he’d felt all night. He drew in as much as he could before he had to let her go, enough to satisfy, but not kill. He had that much control at least. 

When he let her go, he pushed her into the alley wall and covered her mouth with his hand, lest she scream. Her eyes were so wide and frightened. Viktor hated himself a little more each time he fed from a conscious victim. Normally he spelled them beforehand. There hadn’t been time with her. Now, sated and alert, he took the time to weave a proper hypnotism. The purple smoke seeped from his mouth as he said,

“You will pull up your scarf and wrap it around your neck to hide the marks. You will go to your supply closet and get a bandage. You will not scream. You will not tell anyone of this. Ever.”

The smoke entered her dark eyes and swirled about her irises before balling up into a bright dot within her pupils. He removed his hand and stepped back. The waitress stared blankly before her and swayed as she walked back to the door to the restaurant where Viktor assumed she worked. Once she was gone, he assessed his clothing, checking for stray blood spatters. Thankfully he’d had enough control not to make a total mess of himself. He felt better.  _ Much  _ better. But there was still a yearning beneath his skin for the blood of another and that terrified him. 

_ What have I done?  _ Viktor frowned, left the alley, and strode purposefully back toward Yu-topia Katsuki. 

  
  


***

  
  


When Viktor opened the door to his and Yuri’s room at the inn, his entire world slid onto its side and fractured into a thousand pieces. 

“Yuri!” Viktor flew into the room, slamming the door shut behind him. 

All was dark, but Viktor’s vampiric sight let him take in the entire grisly scene before him. 

Yuri lay on his back in the midst of a bloody nightmare. At his throat, a gaping wound bloomed. Blood was everywhere. On the ceiling and walls; soaked into the tatami mats beneath the lithe body beside which lay a knife stained red. 

“Oh god, Yuri, what have you done?” Viktor fell to the younger man’s side and ran his hands over Yuuri’s body checking for other wounds. 

“Oi…” the voice was so faint. Viktor leaned over him to get close to Yuuri’s crimson lips. “What’re you...doing back...so soon?”

“Yuri, what happened? Did that Hunter do this to you?” Viktor demanded, ripping the rest of the black t-shirt away from Yuri’s neck so he could see his throat properly.

Yuri tried to swat Viktor’s hand away. “It stings...don’t touch it…”

“ _ What happened _ ?”

Yuri rolled his eyes and tried to sit up, but a whimper escaped his lips and he settled back into the mats. “Tried to...cut it off. Didn’t work.”

Viktor scowled as he ran his fingers near the site of the gaping hole in Yuri’s neck. “You can’t cut off a tracking sigil, Yuri. Why didn’t you wait for me?”

True to his word, the magical rune still lay deeply embedded in the meat of Yuri’s neck despite the blood and tendons obscuring it. Viktor could feel it’s power. Sweat beaded on Yuri’s brow and Viktor swiped a hand across, feeling the fire burning beneath. 

“Here. Drink,” Viktor said, raising his wrist and opening a vein with his fangs.

Yuri turned his head to avoid it, but Viktor thrust his wrist onto the younger man’s mouth. Within seconds, Yuri had latched on and drank weakly. 

“It won’t heal you, but it will give you some energy,” Viktor said. 

After Yuri drank for about a minute, Viktor pulled his arm away and closed his other hand around his own laceration. 

Yuri had cut his jugular with that knife and his carelessness. It would take five humans to heal such a wound. Five humans that Viktor couldn’t just spell and cart all the way back to this room. He needed help and the only place to get help like that was—

_ No.  _

But he didn’t have a choice. 

He would have to ask the local coven for aid. 

**Author's Note:**

> A/N - Hi, all! Thank you for coming to give another one of my YOI stories a shot. I just can't get away from these lovely creatures. Thanks, too, for any comments and kudos. You guys are the best!


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